St. Anthony with the Christ Child

Arroyo Hondo Painter, active NM ca. 1825-1840 · ca. 1825-1840

St. Anthony was a member of the Franciscan order of the Catholic Church known for his aggressive attacks on heresies. During the Renaissance, however, a cult of devotion developed around the saint, and many artists offered a gentler, more sentimental image by presenting him as a protector of the infant Jesus. (Ron Tyler, ed., Posada’s Mexico, 1979)