This piece is inspired by the painting 'Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy' (Caravaggio, 1595), which depicts the Saint receiving signs of the Stigmata. This refers to the wounds received by Christ when crucified, whilst being held by a Seraph from a high order of angels. I attempted to replicate the composition and positioning of the figures in order to capture the caring nature of the Seraph within the deceased soldier's comrade, whilst depicting the pain felt having lost a fellow soldier. The blood on the chest represents the wounds received by the Stigmata, but also the impact war has on human life.
Throughout this project I developed and explored my passion for the work of Caravaggio, whilst introducing myself to the medium of oil paint; a medium I had long wished to experiment with. I had never studied the artist, nor the medium before and therefore used my time in my Foundation year to explore them further.
Becoming fascinated in traditional Renaissance artists, Caravaggio in particular, inspired my project heavily, with my intention of combining both modern and traditional practices. I therefore set about creating paintings in a similar style to that of Caravaggio whilst introducing my own contemporary themes. I therefore replicated the compositions within his paintings, altering the subject and figures to represent modern issues seen within society. As war continues to be a relevant subject within modern society, I decided to portray this within the piece.
Having never used oil paints before I was extremely happy and surprised by how far I was able to develop my skills with the medium, creating a Caravaggio-esque realistic painting. I will continue to develop my skills with oil painting, as I effectively taught myself how to paint in college, meaning I am still unaware as to techniques and additives/processes that may help my practice. Being unexperienced with no help meant I experienced problems, especially within the black surroundings with several areas of paint resulting in a shiny finish. I will therefore research oil painting further in my studies and gain some help and experience when working with the medium to avoid future problems.
This painting took 78 hours to complete.
Comments