Artwork
Thomas of Villanova heals the sick
Thomas of Villanova heals the sick is an oil painting by the Spanish Baroque Tenebrist artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. It dates from 1675 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo painted Thomas of Villanova Heals the Sick in oil around 1675. It shows a Spanish saint performing a miracle. The scene now hangs at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
The painting was bought there in 1815 by an order from Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. You can still see the canvas today. It’s part of the museum’s collection.
Check out Murillo’s other works next.
Subject & Meaning
The painting illustrates the saint Thomas of Villanova performing a miracle in which he heals a lame man, a scene drawn from his legendary charitable acts.
The painting illustrates the saint Thomas of Villanova performing a miracle in which he heals a lame man, a scene drawn from his legendary charitable acts. Murillo’s composition emphasizes the saint’s compassionate gesture, highlighting themes of charity and divine intervention that were central to Counter‑Reformation religious art. The work was acquired in 1815 for the Bavarian court and has remained in the Alte Pinakothek ever since.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting executed on canvas, a medium and support consistent with Murillo's late religious output. Its physical scale is substantial, measuring 220.8 cm in height and 148.7 cm in width, a tall vertical format suited to a devotional altarpiece composition. Painted in 1675, it belongs to the artist's mature period, characterized by soft tonal transitions, warm coloring, and a tender, naturalistic handling of figures that became hallmarks of his late style.
The canvas is held in the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, where it has been preserved since its acquisition in Paris in 1815.
History & Provenance
The painting was created circa 1675 by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.
Its early provenance is undocumented, but it entered the Bavarian State Painting Collections after being acquired in Paris by General Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta for Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria in 1815. Since then, the work has remained in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, where it is currently held.
Context
Created around 1675 by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Thomas of Villanova heals the sick exemplifies the artist's late religious output during the final years of his life. The work depicts a miracle performed by the Spanish saint Thomas of Villanova, aligning with the Counter-Reformation emphasis on charitable acts and divine intervention prevalent in Sevillian art of the period. Currently held in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, the painting entered the Bavarian State Painting Collections in 1815 after being acquired in Paris by General Sebastiani for Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria.
Its presence in a major German collection underscores the international reach of Murillo's reputation and the broader 19th-century European interest in Spanish Golden Age religious painting.
Overview
Thomas of Villanova heals the sick is an oil painting created by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo around 1675. It is currently part of the collection at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
Legacy
As part of the Alte Pinakothek's collection, the painting remains accessible for public viewing, contributing to the museum's showcase of European Baroque art and Murillo's oeuvre.
Artist & collection
Artist
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( mure-IL-oh, m(y)uu-REE-oh, Spanish:; late December 1617, baptised 1 January 1618 – 3 April 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter.
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