St. Francis in Ecstasy 

Salvator Rosa painted Saint Francis in Ecstasy; the date of its creation is not available and it now resides in the Phillips Collection in Washington. The painting’s dark palette and dramatic light elicit a sense of divine wonder. Rosa organizes the composition with a vertical emphasis through the trees and a burst of light that descends from the heavens. Rosa’s brushstrokes are loose and expressive, endowing the landscape with an emotional charge. Francis, caught in a moment of divine rapture, is dwarfed by the landscape. This tension between the minute human figure and the sublime natural setting evokes Romantic notions of nature’s overwhelming power and humankind's insignificance. The mountain in the distance, shrouded in atmospheric haze, adds depth and reinforces the idea of nature as an awe-inspiring force. Ultimately, the painting's power lies in its capacity to fuse formal elements with spiritual content. The use of light and shadow, in particular, functions not only aesthetically but also as part of a larger cultural and philosophical discourse on faith, nature, and the human condition.