Spanish school; second half of the 17th century. "San... Lot 15

Spanish school; second half of the 17th century. "San Antonio de Padua". Oil on canvas. Re-coloured. It has faults and repainting. It is a fragment of a bigger painting. Measurements: 29 x 25 cm. Saint Anthony of Padua is, after Saint Francis of Assisi, the most popular of the Franciscan saints. He was born in Lisbon in 1195 and only spent the last two years of his life in Padua. After studying at the convent of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, he entered the Order of Friars Minor in 1220, where he changed his Christian name from Fernando to Antonio. After teaching theology in Bologna, he travelled through southern and central France, preaching in Arles, Montpellier, Puy, Limoges and Bourges. In 1227 he took part in the general chapter at Assisi. In 1230 he was involved in the transfer of the remains of St. Francis. He preached in Padua and died there at the age of 36 in 1231. He was canonised only a year after his death, in 1232. Until the end of the 15th century, the cult of St. Anthony remained localised in Padua. From the following century onwards, he became, at first, the national saint of the Portuguese, who placed the churches they built abroad under his patronage, and then a universal saint. He was invoked for the rescue of shipwrecked sailors and the liberation of prisoners. Portuguese sailors invoked him for good wind in the sails, fixing his image on the mast of the ship. Nowadays he is invoked above all to recover lost objects. However, there is no trace of this last patronage before the 17th century. It seems to be due to a play on words with his name: he was called Antonio de Pade or de Pave, an abbreviation of Padua (Padova). From there, he was attributed with the gift of recovering epaves, i.e. lost property. He is depicted as a beardless young man with a broad monastic tonsure, dressed in a habit, and often 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.