Attributed to Marcos Zapata Inca (Cuzco, Peru, circa 1710 - 1773)

Attributed to Marcos Zapata Inca (Cuzco, Peru, circa 1710 - 1773) The Conversion of Saint Francis'. Oil on canvas. 156 x 124 cm. Saint Francis of Assisi, like all those who became saints, underwent a period of conversion. This marvellous painting depicts Francis of Assisi precisely at the stage of his personal search and introspection, praying in the family chapel. Once, while he was praying, he heard a voice saying to him: 'Vade, Francisce, et repara domum meam' (Go, Francis, and repair my house). 'From that moment the compassion of the Crucified One was engraved on Francis' soul' (2Cel 10). The phrase appears in the painting, coming from the mouth of the Christ, before whom Francis is praying. In the background, and no less important than the main scene, the Cuzco painter depicts the moment of 'his firm vow of poverty and detachment' before his parents and the local bishop. Saint Francis' father, Pedro de Bernardone, put up stiff resistance to his son's decision to follow Christ. One day, no longer knowing what to do to dissuade him from his attempts, he denounced him to the bishop. The bishop, however, discreet and wise, advised Francis to appear at his palace and answer his father's accusations, which he did. On the appointed day he appeared before the bishop. After being comforted by the bishop's profound words, the young saint took an unexpected step: he went to a nearby room, stripped off his clothes and returned to the room completely naked (either out of modesty or because the painting was to be hung in a public place, or through the decision of the person who paid for the artwork, the painter does not reflect this) to deposit his clothes, together with all the money he was carrying, at the feet of his father, as a sign of a complete break with the world. Pedro de Berbardone, on the left and weeping, stupefied and furious, picked up his 'maddened' son's belongings and left without a word. Then the prelate, with tears in his eyes, approached the young man and clothed him in his own cloak, hiding his painful nakedness in the large folds of it; he then held him tightly to his heart. Marcos Zapata Inca was a Peruvian painter born in Cuzco. He is known as one of the last representatives of the Cuzco school. Zapata specialized in religious painting, and between the years 1748 and 1764 he painted nearly 200 artworks. One of his most important commissions was the series of 24 paintings dedicated to the life of Saint Francis of Assisi that was created for the Capuchin order of Santiago de Chile in 1748. Later in 1755 he painted 50 canvases on the theme of the Laurentian Litany for Cuzco Cathedral and in 1762 he painted close to 73 artworks for The Society of Jesus in Cuzco. His style influenced the artists of his time, and was characterised by his special way of representing the Virgin Mary surrounded by angels' heads. The compositions related to the Virgin Mary with their allegories greatly interested him and it seems that he was inspired by engravings by Christoph Thomas Scheffler from 1732. Artists such as Antonio Vilca and Ignacio Chacón continued working in a similar vein.