Spanish school of the XVIII century

Spanish school of the XVIII century.
"San Francisco de Paula".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Repainting and patches on the back. Lack of paint on the canvas. Needs restoration.
Measurements: 64 x 49 cm.

Saint Francis of Paula (1416-1507) was an Italian hermit, founder of the Order of the Minims. Very young he began his life as a hermit in the outskirts of his native town, Paula. Little by little he acquired fame for his prodigies, and around 1450 there was already a group of followers around his figure. His community grew, and in 1470 the Congregation of Hermits (the future Order of Minims) received diocesan approval from the Archbishop of Consenza. Four years later, Pope Sixtus IV granted them pontifical approval. In 1483 Francis of Paola went to France by order of the Pope and at the request of King Louis XI. There he developed some diplomatic work in favor of the Holy See, at the same time that he tried to obtain the approval of a Rule for his congregation, which he finally obtained in 1493. Until his death, Francis of Paola would count on the support and protection of the French monarchs, and a few years after his death, processes for his canonization would begin in Calabria, Tourse and Amiens, in which numerous witnesses of his life and miracles testified. He was finally beatified in 1513 and canonized in 1519.