Artwork
Santa Rosa de Lima
Santa Rosa de Lima is an oil painting by the Spanish Baroque Tenebrist artist Claudio Coello. It dates from 1692 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Her identification as the central figure is confirmed through the work's title and its depiction entry in the cataloguing record.
The painting depicts Rose of Lima, the 17th-century Peruvian mystic canonized as the first saint of the Americas. Her identification as the central figure is confirmed through the work's title and its depiction entry in the cataloguing record.
As a religious work, the canvas presents Rose of Lima as an object of devotion, situating her within the iconographic tradition of saintly portraiture cultivated in Counter-Reformation Spain. The large vertical format, measuring 240 by 160 centimetres, is consistent with altarpiece-scale devotional imagery intended for sacred spaces rather than private contemplation.
The work's meaning is rooted in the veneration of Rose of Lima as a model of mystical piety, and its presence in the Museo del Prado reflects her enduring significance within Spanish colonial and peninsular religious culture.
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in oil on canvas, a standard support for 17th-century religious works. Its dimensions are 240 cm in height and 160 cm in width, as recorded in the source. The composition portrays Saint Rose of Lima, rendered with the formal stylistic conventions typical of Baroque religious painting, emphasizing devotional intensity and rich coloration within the oil medium.
History & Provenance
Santa Rosa de Lima is an oil painting on canvas created by Claudio Coello in 1683. According to the Wikidata record, the work is associated with both the Museo del Prado and the Museo de la Trinidad as collections, with its current location given as the Museo del Prado. The painting measures 240 cm in height by 160 cm in width and depicts Rose of Lima.
Beyond these documented facts, the 1683 date of creation, the artist attribution, the medium, the dimensions, and the institutional collections linked to the work, the available sources do not provide further detail on a commission, prior ownership, or chain of custody.
Overview
Claudio Coello, serving as court painter to Charles II, completed the oil painting Santa Rosa de Lima in 1692. The work is part of the Spanish Baroque tradition, employing tenebrist chiaroscuro to emphasize the central figure against a darkened backdrop. It is presently displayed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Claudio Coello (2 March 1642 – 20 April 1693) was a Spanish-Portuguese Baroque painter.
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