Italian or Spanish school; second half of the 18th century.

Italian or Spanish school; second half of the 18th century.
"St. Aloysius Gonzaga".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 12 x 9 cm; 18 x 15 cm (frame).
In this devotional work the artist presents us the figure of a saint that is disposed in profile to the spectator, in a praying attitude, in an interior chamber little defined, in ochre tones with a sober table covered by a blue cloth on which are arranged two lilies typical of his iconography. Dressed in an austere manner, the young saint bends over the table while holding the figure of the crucified Christ in his hands. It is
Saint Aloysius Gonzaga (Castiglione delle Stiviere, Marquisate of CAstiglione, 1568 - Rome, 1591) was an Italian Jesuit beatified in 1605 and canonized in 1726. His father married a lady of Isabella de Valois while in the service of Philip II and, after the Battle of Lepanto (1571), he sailed to Tunisia. Louis received communion from the hands of St. Charles Borromeo, and entered the Society of Jesus after ceding his rights as firstborn in 1583. He studied philosophy and theology and died at the age of 23 after contracting the plague while attending to the sick in the Rome epidemic of 1590-1591. In art, he is usually depicted wearing a black coat under a white surcoat, or as a page, and accompanied by a lily (alluding to his innocence), a cross (for his piety and sacrifice), a skull (for his early death) and a rosary (referring to his devotion to the Virgin Mary).