Flemish school of the XVII century. "Saint Anthony Abbot praying". Oil on copper. Frame of...

Flemish school of the XVII century. "Saint Anthony Abbot praying". Oil on copper. Frame of the nineteenth century.

Flemish school of the XVII century.
"Saint Anthony Abbot praying".
Oil on copper. Frame of the nineteenth century.
Signed "Paternus" in the lower margin.
Size: 17 x 23 cm; 23 x 29 cm (frame).
In this representation, Saint Anthony Abbot wears his white habit under a brown cloak. Following the usual iconography, he kneels before a crucifix and the open book of the Gospels, in prayerful attitude. In the background, in the idealized landscape, there is a building, alluding to a religious foundation. A meandering river flows through the green valley. The physical characteristics of the saint bring him close to the iconography of Saint Anthony Abbot, also known as Saint Anton. He was a Christian monk, considered the founder of the eremitical movement, a model of Christian piety and with a life full of apparitions, among which the best known are his resistance to temptations.