Spanish school; 17th century

Spanish school; XVII century.
"Saint Ambrose".
Oil on panel.
It conserves frame of epoch.
Measurements: 31 x 26 cm; 45 x 38,5 cm (frame).
Work painted in oil on panel, which represents one of the Doctors of the Church, St. Ambrose of Milan (307-397), which as such is represented writing. This saint is one of the first eight Doctors of the Church, specifically one of the four of the Latin rite, together with Gregory the Great (540-604), Jerome of Stridon (346-420) and Augustine of Hippo (354-430). The other four, of the Greek rite, are Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory Nazianzen and John Chrysostom. Doctor of the Church is a title given by the Pope or an Ecumenical Council to certain saints by reason of their erudition and in recognition as eminent teachers of the faith to the faithful. The scholastic tradition of the Four Doctors of the Western Church was confirmed in 1298 by Boniface VIII, who issued a decree ordering them to be specially honored. In 1567 Pope Pius V added the first modern doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas, and in 1588 Sixtus V added St. Bonaventure of Fidanza.