The Miracle of Saint Bernard
Ca. 1620. Oil on canvas.On display elsewhere
This work entered the Prado from the Museo de la Trinidad and its attribution to Loarte is based mainly on stylistic affinities. Part of its considerable interest lies in its capacity to reveal the artist´s skill in several of that period´s most important genres. Beyond its religious narrative, it contains various still-life details executed with the meticulous precision characteristic of this painter, who was an active still-life artist. It also shows his notable ability to capture everyday human activities, and his skill at portraiture. Several of the background figures (especially those at the far right and some around the center) have highly individualized features, and the frieze-like background in general recalls some of the leading works from the Toledo school, including The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. The two boys´ sideburns suggest it is from the 1620s.
