Andalusian or Novo-Hispanic school; second half of the 17th century.

Andalusian or novo-Hispanic school; second half of the XVII century.
"Saint Raphael Archangel".
Oil on canvas.
It presents faults and restorations in the pictorial surface and the frame.
Measurements: 178 x 101 cm; 187 x 110 cm (frame).
Devotional image that presents us the archangel San Rafael with big wings extended, richly dressed with clothes to the fashion of the time, reflection of his high position in the celestial court. Particularly noteworthy is the meticulous treatment of the clothing, details such as the embroidery on the shirt or the trimmings on the boots, reflecting the survival of the 16th century Spanish ways in the colonial school of the Baroque. The angel appears in a simple and clear composition, perfectly didactic, probably taken from an engraving brought from Europe. He appears frontally, full-length and in the foreground, standing on a rocky ledge covered with poppies, before a landscape located at a lower level, developed in depth, again following models brought from Mannerist Spain.
The fish hanging from one of his hands, and the partsana in another, indicates that it may be a representation of the Archangel Saint Raphael. This Archangel is one of the seven archangels that is in front of the throne of God. He is known as the healing Archangel, for his divine intervention with the character Tobias, whom he healed of a blindness. He is usually represented with a fishing rod, next to a fish or with the rod of the pilgrims, an attribute that identifies him as the patron of travelers because, with his help, he guides in spiritual journeys in search of truth and knowledge. The work is largely reminiscent of the aesthetic patterns that became popular at the time, which represented harquebusier angels, or torchbearers. Being indispensable in the representation of sculptural groups of religious character, starring the figure of saints, Jesus, or the Virgin.