Late 19th-Century Spanish Colonial School Painting Portrait of Saint Teresa of Ávila

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Description

An intimate oil-on-canvas portrait of Saint Teresa of Ávila, attributed to the Spanish Colonial School, though a Spanish School origin … Read more An intimate oil-on-canvas portrait of Saint Teresa of Ávila, attributed to the Spanish Colonial School, though a Spanish School origin is also possible. The painting dates to the late 18th or early 19th century.

Teresa wears a Carmelite habit and white mantle, with a faint halo around her head. She holds a book and writing instrument, references to her spiritual writings, while rays of light enter from the upper left. A small vase of flowers rests on the red-covered table beside her.

The painting is mounted on an old fixed wooden strainer with crossbars and shaped corner joints. A hole near the top center is consistent with earlier hanging from a nail or pin, before the painting was placed in its later decorative gold frame. A fragmentary handwritten paper label remains on one side, though its text is not legible.

Condition: Antique condition with visible craquelure and surface wear. A substantial canvas repair patch and a dark resinous coating, believed to be pine pitch, are present on the reverse. Some areas may have undergone past retouching or overpainting; the painting has not been examined under ultraviolet light. The earlier hanging hole is visible at the top when unframed. Please review all photographs, including the unframed views.

Painting: 9½" H × 6¾" W
Framed: 12½" H × 9½" W See less