Estéban de Ágreda attr. (La Rioja, 1759 - Madrid, 1842)
Saint Benedict of Palermo, ca. 1807 - 1825
Carved, gilded and polychromed wood
43 x 21 x 20 cm
Saint Benedict of Palermo is the name by which we know Benito Manasseri, an Italian religious of African origin, who was canonized in 1807. His parents were slaves on a plantation near Messina where they had been brought from Africa.
This Saint Benedict must be related to Saint Francis of Assisi in the tomb, made by Esteban de Ágreda in the first quarter of the 20th century for the Capuchins of Patience, in Madrid, from there transferred to the Museum of the Trinidad, and today preserved in the Prado Museum (catalogue number Eooo578).
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