Painting. Vision of Saint Anthony of Padua (Catholic tradition)

In the lower right is shown the kneeling Saint Anthony of Padua, a young monk in a brown Franciscan habit with a hood and a white knotted cord belt, a shaved tonsure on the crown of his head. He kneels with his arms spread in a gesture of adoration and his face raised upward. Before him, on an open book resting on a rocky outcrop, is the Christ Child, with fair curly hair and a light red-pink drapery. The Child blesses the monk with his right hand and places his left on the monk's right palm. Around the Child's head is a radiance. In the upper part of the composition, amid clouds, is a group of winged cherubs, one of whom holds the stem of a white lily. The cherubs' wings are rendered in both light and dark tones. At the upper left are two more cherubs against a dark cloud with greenish-blue drapery. The background is a stormy sky with breaks of light at the center; at the lower right, a landscape opens with hills, a body of water, and trees.

Legend: "The Vision of Saint Anthony of Padua" is a well-known mystical episode from the life of the saint, the Franciscan monk Anthony of Padua, in which the Christ Child appeared to him during prayer. This subject became one of the most popular images of revelation and divine love. The Christ Child is often depicted on an open book (the Bible) beside the saint, signifying the power of the Word of God and Anthony's profound theological learning. In many works of art, white lilies appear beside the saint — a traditional symbol of his chastity and purity.