3-098-014 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Saint Francis of Assisi in the Porziuncola with the Donors Antonio Contreras and María Amezquita, 1659. Alternative title: Jubilee of the Porziuncola: apparition of Christ and the Virgin Mary to Saint Francis in the Porziuncola church. From the perspective of the history of Spanish portraiture, the work is particularly interesting due to the unique way in which the effigies of Don Antonio de Contreras and his wife are incorporated. They were the donors of the painting, and instead of sharing the same space as the sacred representation, they are integrated into it through portraits with their respective frames. This innovation, rather than diminishing the presence of the donors, emphasizes it. Licentiate Antonio de Contreras y González Bernaldo de Quirós belonged to one of the most deeply entrenched families in the Spanish bureaucracy. He was a Knight of Calatrava, whose cross is visible on his attire, from 1634, and a prominent member of the Council of Castile , which lends the work significant iconographic value. He died in Segovia in 1670, and at the time the painting was created, he was a patron of the court hospitals.