Spanish school of the XVII century

Spanish school of the XVII century.
"Saint Anthony and the Child Jesus".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Needs restoration.
Measurements: 81 x 61 cm.

This religious scene depicts the theme of the apparition of the Child Jesus to St. Anthony of Padua. In front of the saint, kneeling and dressed in habit, we see the Child Jesus sitting on an open book. Saint Anthony of Padua or of Lisbon (Lisbon, ca. 1191 to 1195 - Padua, 1231) was a Franciscan friar, preacher and theologian, venerated for his miracles and as a saint and Doctor of the Church, who was first a member of the Order of Canons Regular of Saint Augustine, until he became a Franciscan in 1220. St. Anthony of Padua is, after St. Francis of Assisi, the most popular of the Franciscan saints. He is depicted as a beardless youth in broad monastic tonsure, dressed in habit, and usually appears with the Infant Jesus, holding him in his arms, alluding to an apparition he had in his cell. It became the most popular attribute of this saint from the 16th century onwards, being especially popular in the Baroque art of the Counter-Reformation.