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Using an arrow, symbol of Divine Love, the Christ Child pierces the flaming heart that the kneeling Saint Augustine (354-430), one of the Fathers of the Church, holds out to him in his right hand. The scene is taken from chapter III of Augustine’s Confessions and is depicted in this Catalan artist’s characteristically old fashioned style, evident in the figure types and the use of chiaroscuro.
The artist has arranged the objects in the traditional manner, locating them in the immediate foreground in order to achieve greater visual impact. The result is a simple composition but one with a marked degree of lifelikeness. It is influenced by the still lifes of similar motifs painted by the Neapolitan artist Giuseppe Recco (1634-1695), albeit without their decorative quality.
