Miracle of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Peter Paul Rubens · PD

Miracle of Saint Ignatius of Loyola


Details

Year
1618
Medium
oil paint
Type
painting
Dimensions
535 × 395 cm

The story

When Rubens painted this around 1617 for the Jesuits' grand new church in Antwerp, Ignatius of Loyola was not yet a saint. He had founded the Jesuit order but would only be canonised in 1622, and pictures like this, showing him driving demons out of the possessed, were part of the argument for his sainthood. It served as a high-altar piece and was swapped out with a companion showing Saint Francis Xavier, so the congregation saw one, then the other. Rubens lights Ignatius from above and packs the lower half with writhing, convulsing figures, the demons visibly leaving their bodies as he raises his hand.

Miracle of Saint Ignatius of Loyola — Peter Paul Rubens — MuseScope