SAINT ANTHONY WITH THE CHILD AND THE VIRGIN

JOSEFA DE AYALA (Josefa de Óbidos) (Seville, 1630 – Óbidos, 1684)

Portugal (Óbidos), 1676

Oil on canvas

127 x 124 cm

This painting, which is signed and dated (“Josepha em Obidos 1676”), is a great example of the model of religious painting, with a strong devotional component, developed by Josefa de Ayala (commonly known as Josefa de Óbidos), famous Portuguese painter of the 17th century.

Born and baptised in Seville in 1630, the daughter of the Portuguese painter Baltazar Gomes Figueira and his Spanish wife, D. Catarina Camacho Cabrera Romero, learned the art from her father in Óbidos, to where her family had moved in 1634, coming from Seville. Her first known wor See more