Saint Thomas of Villanova among Acolytes
XVII century. Pencil ground, Reworked in ink on laid paper.Not on display
In the centre of the composition, Saint Thomas of Villanova faces forwards and gestures as if giving a blessing. He wears a cape, mitre and staff. Kneeling in symmetry before him, two members of a collegiate church or doctors hold their birettas in their hands. Standing behind the saint, on either side, are two acolytes: one with a cross and the other holding a mitre.
The drawing is one of the few works definitively attributed to the Valencian painter. His technique shares similarities with other works in the Museo de Bellas Artes in Valencia and with one preserved in the Instituto Jovellanos in Gijón. The composition bears some relationship to a painting in the cloister of the Segorbe Cathedral. This painting, according to Orellana (1967), falls under the authorship of Gaspar de la Huerta. Undoubtedly, Huerta must have drawn inspiration from the composition of Pontons since the stole appears corrected in his canvas, as it is recorded in the handwritten note on the verso. Yet another work derived from the composition is a drawing attributed to Antonio Richarte in the National Library.
Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso E., Catálogo de Dibujos. Vol. I. Dibujos españoles siglos XV-XVII, Madrid, Museo del Prado, 1972, p.114
