The Miracles of St. Francis Xavier
about 1617/18 | Peter Paul Rubens
This monumental painting was displayed alternately with The Miracles of St. Ignatius of Loyola (Inv. No. GG 517) on the high altar of Antwerp’s Jesuit Church. St. Francis Xavier stands preaching to a crowd of people. Some of the miracles he performed as part of his missionary activity in Asia are vividly depicted, both as a testimony to the Counter-Reformation and as preparation for the beatification of St. Francis Xavier in 1619. A man is summoned back from the dead, the blind and lame are healed, and in the temple an idol is falling, broken, to the ground.
This monumental painting was displayed alternately with The Miracles of St. Ignatius of Loyola (Inv. No. GG 517) on the high altar of Antwerp’s Jesuit Church. St. Francis Xavier stands preaching to a crowd of people. Some of the miracles he performed as part of his missionary activity in Asia are vividly depicted, both as a testimony to the Counter-Reformation and as preparation for the beatification of St. Francis Xavier in 1619. A man is summoned back from the dead, the blind and lame are healed, and in the temple an idol is falling, broken, to the ground.
Artist:
Peter Paul Rubens (1577 Siegen - 1640 Antwerpen) DNB
Time:
about 1617/18
Object Name
Painting
Culture
Flemish
Material/technology:
Canvas
Dimensions:
535 x 395 cm
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie
Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 519
Provenance
Jesuit Church, Antwerp; acquired 1776 from the Jesuit Church in Antwerp
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