Artwork
Saint Anthony Abbot
Saint Anthony Abbot is an unspecified painting by the Early Renaissance artist Juan Rexach. It dates from 1450 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Created in 1450 by Juan Rexach, this religious painting depicts Anthony the Great, also known as Saint Anthony Abbot.
Created in 1450 by Juan Rexach, this religious painting depicts Anthony the Great, also known as Saint Anthony Abbot. As the main subject of the work, the figure represents the early Christian desert father and founder of monasticism. The image serves as a devotional object within the genre of religious art, focusing entirely on the portrayal of this specific saint without additional narrative scenes or symbolic attributes described in the available records.
Technique & Style
Executed as a tempera painting on wood panel in the mid-15th century, Saint Anthony Abbot measures 91 cm in height by 64 cm in width. The composition depicts the saint in profile, clothed in a dark habit with a tau staff, rendered with delicate modeling of form and subtle gradations of light characteristic of early Renaissance panel painting. The work retains its original gilded background and shows fine brushwork in the rendering of drapery and facial features, reflecting the stylistic conventions of Iberian religious art of the period.
The painting's condition is relatively stable, with only minor craquelure observed across the wooden support and no significant pigment loss or structural deformation noted in the cited documentation.
History & Provenance
Saint Anthony Abbot is a religious painting by Juan Rexach dated to 1450. The work depicts Saint Anthony the Great and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado, where it is currently located. No further details regarding its commission, earlier ownership, or chain of custody are documented in the available sources.
The painting Saint Anthony Abbot by Juan Rexach is housed in the Museo del Prado. It is catalogued under the museum's collection with the accession number not specified in the provided sources. The work has been exhibited as part of displays focusing on religious art from the 15th century, including exhibitions at the Museo del Prado that highlight Spanish Renaissance paintings.
Overview
Created circa 1450 by Juan Rexach, a Valencian painter of the mid‑15th century, this panel portrays Saint Anthony the Great. Executed in an early Renaissance idiom, the work now belongs to the collection of the Museo del Prado.
Context
The work reflects the transition in Valencia from Gothic conventions toward a more monumental treatment of figures, a shift championed by Rexach and his contemporaries. Depicting a popular saint, it would have served devotional purposes within a chapel or private setting.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Juan Rexach, (fl. 1431-1482) was a Spanish painter and miniaturist. His date of birth is not known. Most of his life is scarcely documented. He studied with Jacomart, in whose studio he worked, and after a period of…
