Old Master Paintings and Portrait Miniatures
Old Master Paintings and Portrait Miniatures
The Property of a European Private Collector
Saint Didacus of Alcalá, holding rose buds
Lot Closed
April 28, 02:42 PM GMT
Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
The Property of a European Private Collector
Follower of Guido Reni
Saint Didacus of Alcalá, holding rose buds
oil on canvas
unframed: 66.4 x 49.3 cm.; 26⅛ x 19⅜ in.
framed: 90.6 x 73.6 cm.; 35⅝ x 29 in.
Didacus of Alcalá, or Diego de San Nicolás, was a Franciscan lay brother in Spain in the 15th century, who was among the first group of missionaries to the newly-conquered Canary Islands. He frequently took bread from the monastery's refectory to give to the poor. On one occasion when he was carrying a cloak full of food, he was accused of stealing and challenged to reveal what he was holding. Miraculously, when he opened his habit, the loaves of bread had transformed into roses.
This design is known in another version,1 and both works most probably follow a lost prototype by Guido Reni.
1 Sold at Christie's, London, 4 July 2012, lot 208 (as Bolognese School, 17th century); https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5586371