On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P01169
- Author
- Velázquez, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y (Spanish)
- Title
- Saint Anthony the Abbot and Saint Paul, the First Hermit
- Chronology
- Ca. 1634
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 257 cm x 188 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
This is a representation in five
scenes of the meeting of Saint
Anthony the Abbot with Saint Paul
the Hermit, as described by Jacobus
de Voragine in The Golden Legend
(XIV).
Saint Anthony has a dream which
leads him to visit Saint Paul. On
his way, he is miraculously guided
to the hermit's cave by a satyr, a
centaur and a wolf. Each of these
scenes is depicted in the
background of the composition.
Saint Paul opens the door of his
shelter to Saint Anthony and
together they share a meal
miraculously brought to them by a
raven. Those moments are depicted
inside the cave, at the right of
the work and in the foreground.
Finally, Saint Anthony prays at
Saint Paul's tomb, accompanied by
lions, at the left of the
composition.
Velasquez used the light as a
subtle resource to represent and
isolate so many different moments
in a single composition.
This work was painted for the
hermitage of San Pablo in the
gardens of Madrid's Buen Retiro
Palace. In 1722 it appeared in the
inventory of Madrid's Royal Palace,
and in 1819 it became a part of the
Prado Museum Collection.
Location on the map
