Archangel Saint Raphael
Artist
Unknown Artist
Date1886
Object number2009.2470.13
Mediumoil on brass
Dimensions10 3/4 x 8 1/8 in. (27.3 x 20.6 cm)
frame: 19 1/4 x 16 1/4 x 1 7/8 in. (48.9 x 41.3 x 4.8 cm)
frame: 19 1/4 x 16 1/4 x 1 7/8 in. (48.9 x 41.3 x 4.8 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineMuseo de Arte de Ponce. The Luis A. Ferré Foundation, Inc.
Gift of Rosario Ferré Ramírez de Arellano
Collections
DescriptionIn the Catholic canon, God sent the Archangel Saint Raphael to guide Tobias, Tobit's son, in finding a cure for his father's blindness by telling him to apply fish gall to his eyes. Saint Raphael's attributes, such as the fish and the staff, identify him as the guardian of pilgrims and travelers. The depiction of archangels, common in Spanish Baroque art, became popular in the Viceroyalty of Peru. It was imported via paintings and engravings during the sixteenth century by religious orders that came to evangelize the indigenous population of the colonized territories. The religious authorities promoted the figures of the Christian archangels to supplant the cult of the celestial beings in polytheistic pantheons.
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