Spanish or Italian school; second half of the 18th century.

Spanish or Italian school; second half of the 18th century.
"Saint Anthony of Padua.
Oil on canvas.
Presents faults and Puncture.
Preserves period frame.
Measurements: 76 x 60 cm; 85 x 70 cm (frame).
Devotional scene that represents one of the themes that reached more popularity and whose representations were widely spread both in the domestic and ecclesiastical field, giving rise to a rich variety of iconographic interpretations that, although they maintain a common compositional scheme, incorporate formal and expressive nuances of each workshop or period.
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.