Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

In this woodland setting, the trees yield to the divine presence, which travels from the upper right sunburst through the forest, like a heavenly explosion, toward the figure of Saint Francis at left. Landscape was central to the story of the saint, who, Christian tradition says, spent years in the wilderness living as a beggar before he miraculously received the stigmata (wounds of Christ) during an ecstatic vision. Titian’s dramatic lines create a series of dynamic diagonals, heightening the moment of religious rapture and expressing God’s power through the wonderous riches of nature. The woodcutter cut the block to purposely imitate the drawing style of the composition's designer, Titian.