Spanish school; 17th century.

Spanish school; XVII century.
"San Marcos".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It has a frame of the twentieth century with faults.
Measurements: 76 x 95 cm; 94 x 113 cm (frame).
Devotional painting that represents Saint Mark as evangelist, dressed with tunic and mantle and writing a great book that he holds before him, his high and pensive view is directed directly to the spectator. It is a contemplative and didactic image, clearly counter-reformist and therefore also worked with naturalism and with a marked monumental character.
Saint Mark the Evangelist is traditionally considered the author of the Gospel that bears his name, and the founder and first bishop of the Church of Alexandria. He is also often identified with John, called Mark, a character who appears several times in the "Acts of the Apostles". St. Mark was not a direct disciple of Jesus, so he based his Gospel account, according to tradition, on the teachings of Peter. This Saint is associated with the lion because his Gospel begins speaking of the desert, and precisely this animal was considered the king of the desert. Furthermore, at the beginning of his account, Mark speaks of the Jordan River, around which lived various wild animals, the lion among them. It is also said that Mark is the lion because his Gospel begins speaking of John the Baptist as "Voice crying in the wilderness", a voice that would be like that of the lion.