Sant’Antonio da Padova (c.1502)

Raffaello (1483-1520)

Sant’Antonio da Padova (Saint Anthony of Padua)
c.1502
Oil on panel, 25.7 x 16.4 cm
Dulwich Picture GalleryLondon

This panel was originally part of the base (predella) of the Colonna Altarpiece (Pala Colonna).

Saint Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and close follower of the revered Saint Francis of Assisi (c. 1181-1226). Leaving his life of wealth and comfort in Portugal, Anthony joined the Franciscan Order, preaching, teaching, and performing miracles in Italy. Because of his good deeds, he was one of the most quickly canonised saints in the history of the Catholic Church, as Anthony was canonised by Pope Gregory IX less than a year after his death. The patron saint of the lost and stolen, Saint Anthony is often portrayed holding a lily and a book, as seen in this painting.

Along with a small painting depicting Saint Francis of Assisi – also in the Dulwich Picture Gallery collection – this is one of the outer panels from a predella, the long horizontal structure at the base of an altarpiece. It formed part of the Colonna Altarpiece, which was painted by the Italian artist Raphael (1483-1520) in around 1502 for the Franciscan convent of Sant’Antonio in PerugiaItaly. The intact altarpiece hung in a part of the church reserved for the nuns of the convent until 1663 when the nuns of Sant’Antonio sold the predella to cover their debts. The main part of the altarpiece, together with one predella panel, is in the Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York. The other predella panels are in the National GalleryLondon and the Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumBoston. (DPG)

The Colonna Altarpiece

Raffaello (1483-1520)
Pala Colonna
c.15041505
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York

 

 

Main panel:

Madonna in trono con santi (1504-1505)Raffaello (1483-1520)
Madonna in trono con santi
c.15041505
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York

 

 

Predella:

Raffaello (1483-1520)
San Francesco d’Assisi
c.1502
Dulwich Picture GalleryLondon

 

 

L'orazione nell'Orto (1504-1505)Raffaello (1483-1520)
L’orazione nell’Orto
c.15041505
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York

 

 

Raffaello (1483-1520)
Processione al Calvario
c.15041505
National GalleryLondon

 

 

Raffaello (1483-1520)
Pietà
c.15031505
Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumBoston

 

 

Raphael painted this altarpiece around 1504/5 for the Franciscan convent of Sant’Antonio in Perugia. It hung in a part of the church reserved for the nuns, who may have insisted on its conservative details, such as the elaborately clothed Christ. By contrast, the weighty male saints reflect the progressive style developed by Leonardo da Vinci and Fra Bartolomeo that Raphael had just begun to study in Florence. The lunette above the main panel depicts God the Father holding a globe and delivering a blessing between two angels and two seraphim. (MET)