The vision of Saint Anthony of Padua

In 1656 the chapter of Seville Cathedral commissioned Bartolomé Esteban Murillo to paint an altarpiece for the chapel of Saint Anthony of Padua, a small space then used for baptisms. Murillo met the challenge with a large canvas for a modest room, a practice the Seville painter Herrera the Elder had already followed. The scene is intimate. The saint sits at a bare table, reading, when the Christ Child appears surrounded by angels, symbols of purity. Anthony sets his books aside and kneels. Light radiating from the divine figure floods the room, while an open door at the back reveals a column and architectural details that give the space depth.

The composition mixes foreshortened figures, with the theatrical drama typical of Baroque altarpieces, and a broad range of colours that binds the whole together. Rather than the strong chiaroscuro of many contemporaries, Murillo models forms with softer light and a naturalistic tone, a quality tied to the legacy of Francisco de Zurbarán and his generation. The atmospheric effect also recalls Velázquez.

The painting's material history is nearly as striking as its style. During the French occupation of Seville, Marshal Soult plundered the cathedral treasury, but this canvas was spared when the chapter offered another Murillo in exchange. In 1874 thieves cut out the figure of the saint; the fragment resurfaced in New York and returned to Seville in 1875, and a restoration in 1876 reunited it with the composition.

Painter

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Date

1656

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

56 × 33 cm

Museum

Seville Cathedral, Seville

Genre

religious art

Depicts

Anthony of Padua

Share:FacebookWhatsApp