Spanish school; circa 1700.
"Saint Felix of Cantalicio".
Oil on canvas. Re-drawn.
It presents restorations and jumps in the painting.
Measurements: 163 x 111 cm; 180 x 127 cm (frame).
A saint holding the Child in his arms, looks at him sweetly. The artist has used pastel colours and a wide brushstroke that remains open, leaving an elegant and delicate subtlety that forms a peaceful work close to the faithful. Due to the Saint's characteristics, he can be identified as Felix of Cantalice. Felix of Cantalicio began working in his youth as a shepherd and later as a labourer where he began to pray. In 1543 Felix joined the Capuchin friars in the convent of Citta Ducale. Three years later he was sent to Rome, where he spent the rest of his life dedicated to helping the poor and the sick. His preaching in the streets of Rome extended to educational work directed towards young people and children and against corrupt politicians. For this reason St. Felix achieved a great reputation.
The work follows the aesthetic precepts close to the painting of the master Esteban Murillo, which today belongs to the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Seville, although it differs in terms of composition. Murillo's work was created around 1668-1669, with the intention of adorning the nave of the Epistle of the Convent of Capuchinos (Seville). Murillo began his artistic apprenticeship around 1635 with the Sevillian painter Juan del Castillo, with whom he established a long professional and friendly relationship. He remained linked to the city of Seville throughout his life and became the city's most famous and sought-after painter. His only recorded trip is documented in 1658, when the artist was in Madrid, where he was probably in contact with court painters such as Velázquez and Zurbarán and was able to see the royal collection of paintings. Murillo obtained important contracts with both religious and civil institutions. His paintings were soon to be found in the main churches and convents of Seville and in the city's most noble mansions. Having become the city's foremost painter, surpassing even Zurbarán in fame, he was determined to raise the expressive and technical level of local painting. That is why in 1660 he decided, together with Francisco de Herrera el Mozo, to found a painting academy where artists could train and perfect their technical skills. His fame was such that it went beyond the city limits of Seville and spread throughout Spain. According to Antonio Palomino, a biographer of Spanish painters, it seems that around 1670 the king of Spain, Charles II, offered Murillo the possibility of moving to Madrid to work there as a court painter, although the artist declined the offer.