“Ante Obitum Mortuus, Post Obitum Vivus”. Zurbarán and the Representation of Saint Francis’ Body

Abstract

This article discusses the particular example of the representation of the dead body of St. Francis of Assisi as it was contemplated -according to the franciscan tradition- by Pope Nicholas V in order to explore the concept of the saintly body in Hispanic society of the Early Modern period. The article focusses in the depictions of this subject by Francisco de Zurbarán c. 1640-1650, considering them not only an iconographical innovation, but a further step in the early modern elaboration of the idea of the Alter Christus and, due to the particular circumstances of Francis' remains, as substitutes for his original relics.