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Holding a book that seems to thrust forward out of the picture plane is Saint Anthony Abbot, identified by the tau- (T-) shaped walking stick he used in later life. He also wears a black habit, which his followers, the Antonine monks, later adopted. Next to him, slightly set back, is Saint Francis of Assisi, with his dark brown friar’s habit and a bloody wound on his hand. This is one of the stigmata – the five wounds suffered by Christ on the Cross, which were miraculously visited on the saint. Sacchi has created a simple but effective contrast between the two meditative saints. They appear to share the same physical space, lit by a bright, raking light from the left, but they seem unaware of each other. Saint Anthony is immersed in his studies; Saint Francis’s hands are crossed in religious submission, and his gaze is turned heavenwards.
Title
Saints Anthony Abbot and Francis of Assisi
Date
before 1627
Medium
Oil on canvas
Measurements
H 61 x W 78 cm
Accession number
NG6382
Acquisition method
Presented by Messrs P. and D. Colnaghi, 1967
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
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