On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P02259
- Author
- Lorraine, Claude (French)
- Title
- Landscape with Saint Mary of Cervelló
- Chronology
- 1636-1638
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 162 cm x 241 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
A wooded landscape frames the
figure of Saint Mary of Cervelló, a
thirteenth-century Catalonian nun
who founded the Second Order of Our
Lady of Mercy. This figure has also
been identified as Mary Magdalene.
The penitent kneels in prayer
before a crucifix. She wears the
habit of her order. The light of
dawn appears in the
background.
Nature is the protagonist here. It
is exuberant, offering shelter to
the delicate and pious figure of
the saint, who is theatrically
illuminated by a light source over
a dark background.
There are preparatory drawings for
this canvas at the British Museum
in London and at the Albertina
Library in Vienna.
This work was painted for the Buen
Retiro Palace of King Felipe IV
(1605-1665) and hung in the
landscape gallery, where it was
accompanied by Landscape with Saint
Onophre (P2256), which is also in
the Prado Museum Collection.
Location on the map
