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The Miracle of St. Anthony
Francisco Goya·1798
Historical Context
The Miracle of St. Anthony, painted around 1798, is a preparatory study or reduced version related to Goya's celebrated frescoes in the Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida in Madrid. The frescoes, completed in just six months in 1798, depict Saint Anthony of Padua raising a murdered man to identify his killer. Goya's radical approach placed the miracle scene in the dome surrounded by spectators drawn from contemporary Madrid street life — majas, beggars, and children — rather than idealized religious figures. The unconventional treatment scandalized conservative clerics but established Goya as Spain's supreme decorative painter. This version, in the Carnegie Museum of Art, preserves his compositional ideas in oil.
Technical Analysis
Goya renders the miraculous scene with the broad, atmospheric handling of his mature style, using warm light and dynamic figure arrangement to create a powerful devotional composition.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the radical approach to the miracle: instead of placing Saint Anthony in a sacred architectural setting with an idealized crowd, Goya surrounds him with contemporary Madrid types — majas, beggars, and children.
- ◆Look at the dome composition: the figures press around the circular opening like spectators at a popular event, treating the miracle as a contemporary street happening.
- ◆Observe the loose, atmospheric handling: the San Antonio de la Florida frescoes used a freedom of technique radical for religious commissions, and this small study captures the same approach.
- ◆Find the scandal value: by placing a medieval miracle in contemporary Madrid, Goya was challenging the conventions of sacred history painting in a way that provoked conservative clerics.
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