Sant’Alberto (o san Simone Stock) riceve lo scapolare dalla Madonna del Carmine

The vision of Saint Simon Stock receiving the brown scapular from the Virgin of Mount Carmel was the founding miracle of the Carmelite order's most popular devotion. Guercino painted this subject around 1629 for Carmelite patrons who promoted the scapular as a guarantee of salvation. The intimate supernatural encounter between the aged saint and the Madonna allowed Guercino to combine visionary painting with the naturalistic character study at which he excelled.

Dramatic chiaroscuro creates a supernatural atmosphere as the Madonna appears in a burst of light against the surrounding darkness. The saint's weathered face is rendered with naturalistic precision that grounds the miraculous vision in physical reality.