Jacopo Marieschi

JACOPO MARIESCHI (Venice, 1711-1794).
"St. Francis of Paola" and "St. Anthony Abbot".
Oil on canvas. Later stretcher frames and frames.
Measurements: 38 x 29.5 cm; 50 x 41 cm (frame).
Painter sometimes confused with the contemporary vedutista Michele Marieschi, Jacopo Marieschi specialized in history painting, although he also worked on religious themes. One of the canvases depicts Francisco de Paula, identified by the legend "Charitas", the saint's motto, which appears in the lower margin. The other image depicts St. Anthony of Padua or Lisbon (Lisbon, ca. 1191 to 1195 - Padua, 1231) was a Franciscan friar, preacher and theologian, revered for his miracles and as a saint and Doctor of the Church, who was first a member of the Order of Canons Regular of St. Augustine, until he became a Franciscan in 1220. St. Anthony of Padua is, after St. Francis of Assisi, the most popular of the Franciscan saints. He is depicted as a beardless youth in broad monastic tonsure, dressed in habit, and usually appears with the Infant Jesus, holding him in his arms, alluding to an apparition he had in his cell. It became the most popular attribute of this saint from the 16th century onwards, being especially popular in the Baroque art of the Counter-Reformation. Saint Francis of Paola (1416-1507) was an Italian hermit, founder of the Order of Minims. At a very young age he began his life as a hermit on the outskirts of his native town of Paula. Little by little he acquired fame for his prodigies, and around 1450 there was already a group of followers around his figure. His community grew, and in 1470 the Congregation of Hermits (the future Order of Minims) received diocesan approval from the Archbishop of Consenza. Four years later, Pope Sixtus IV granted them pontifical approval. In 1483 Francis of Paola went to France by order of the Pope and at the request of King Louis XI. There he developed some diplomatic work in favor of the Holy See, at the same time that he tried to obtain the approval of a Rule for his congregation, which he finally obtained in 1493.