This is a preparatory sketch for the painting of the main altarpiece of the Chapel of Saint Anthony at Madrid´s church of San Francisco el Grande. It was part of the decoration of the church promoted by King Carlos III, which was completed in 1781. Seven court painters, all members of the Academy, were commissioned to carry out one of the most important decorative projects of that period, between 1781 and 1784: the canvases for the main altarpiece and the six altars of the church´s lateral chapels. Maella did his work on the spot, accompanied by Andrés de la Calleja, Francisco Bayeu, Mariano Salvador Maella, Antonio González Velázquez, Gregorio Ferro, José del Castillo and Francisco de Goya. Maella´s composition is in keeping with conventions followed since the Baroque, offering one of the most popular and repeated images in Spanish painting. The virgen, surrounded by little angels, wears robes moved by the heavenly wind. The resulting image is very different from the naturalistic representation of this figure of worship proposed by Goya soon thereafter (P03260).