17th century Spanish school

Spanish school of the 17th century.
"San Onofre".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Presents restorations.
Measurements: 47 x 63 cm; 57 x 72 x 3 cm (frame).

This work captures the essence of extreme asceticism through the figure of San Onofre. Following the traditional iconography of the anchorite, the saint is shown without clothes, covered only by his natural hair and the characteristic loincloth of interwoven palm. However, this canvas presents an iconographic singularity of great interest to the collector: unlike the usual representation -where his long gray beard and hair symbolize his sixty years of isolation in the Egyptian desert-, here he appears beardless. However, there is also a reference to the palm tree that, according to hagiography, grew next to his cave in Thebes to support him, an element that usually accompanies him in the form of a tree or branch.