The imposition of the chasuble on Saint Ildephonsus
1603. Oil on canvas.On display elsewhere
This work belongs to the main altarpiece of the church of the college of the Agustinos Calzados in Madrigal, together with The Annunciation (P4800), The Adoration of the Shepherds (P002471) and The Apparition of Saint Leocadia to Saint Ildephonsus (P5412). Recorded by Ceán (1800): ‘MADRIGAL / COLLEGE OF THE AGUSTINOS CALZADOS / Six paintings on the main altar with figures of the size of the natural one, signed in 1603. They represent the incarnation, birth, resurrection and ascension of the Son of God. Saint Ildephonsus receives the chasuble from the Virgin; and the same saint cuts the sendal to Saint Leocadia.’
The paintings of The Resurrection and The Ascension of Christ are not recorded in any of the known inventories. They were probably stolen or fraudulently sold as worthless at an auction. In any case, their whereabouts are unknown. The four paintings recorded in the general inventory of the Holy Trinity Paintings, which are stored and chosen by the Academy Commission, were exhibited in the large room of the Main Gallery of the Museo de la Trinidad (Inventory of the paintings and statues presented at the inauguration of the Museo Nacional de la Trinidad on the 24th of June 1838.)
Cruzada Villaamil (1865) aptly recorded the provenance of the work in this case.
Álvarez Lopera, José, El museo de la Trinidad: historia, obras y documentos (1838-1872), Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2009, p.104-105
