Saint Peter Nolasco Recovering the Image of the Virgin of El Puig

In 1628 the Church declared Peter Nolasco a saint. He had died some four centuries earlier, the medieval founder of the Mercedarians, an order that raised money to ransom Christian captives held in Muslim lands. His canonization set off a wave of commissions, and the order's great house in Seville hired the young Zurbarán to paint scenes from his life. This one, finished in 1630, shows a story the order told about its origins. A small stone image of the Virgin, hidden generations before to keep it safe, was found buried near Valencia at the castle of El Puig, and Nolasco presents it to King James I of Aragon, who was then taking the city back. Zurbarán gives the miracle almost no drama. The men stand in heavy robes around the little carving, treating it as the plainest fact in the room.