Detail of St. Francis by Federico Barocci - circ. 1604
This painting mesmerized me. Just take a look at the eyes of the Saint; concave, moist, full of expression. This is just oil paint on two-dimensional canvas, yet the artist, Federico Barocci, has created a living breathing person here. Barocci was a contemporary of Caravaggio. Though well known in his time, he is far less so today. His work hangs in some of the greatest museums in the world, including the Pinacoteca and Borghese Galleries in Rome, and the Uffizi in Florence. This particular painting hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Taken in New York Metropolitan Museum of Art