Giuseppe Bazzani, 'Saint Anthony of Padua with the Infant Christ', probably 1740-50

Saint Anthony of Padua, wearing the grey habit of the Franciscan Order to which he belonged, stands before the infant Christ. A white lily, Saint Anthony’s attribute, lies at Christ’s feet and the saint splays his hands in a gesture of adoration as Christ reaches out to embrace him.

The Christ Child’s upturned feet and flying drapery indicate that he is floating, not standing, before the saint. While preaching, Saint Anthony had a vision of Christ appearing on his open book – its pages are roughly sketched at the lower left. The subject was popular in Italian and Spanish art, particularly during the Counter-Reformation period.

The vaporous brushwork, which creates this painting’s hazy atmosphere and almost blurry impression, is typical of Bazzani’s technique. The paint is swiftly applied, appearing soft in certain areas (like Saint Anthony’s hair) and impastoed in others (such as the highlights in Christ’s drapery). The colours Bazzani uses are subdued, though Christ’s red drapery has faded considerably and would originally have been as vibrant as it is in the shadows.

Bazzani’s light, flickering brushwork is akin to that of the Rococo painter Franz Anton Maulbertsch and to Venetian eighteenth-century artists like Francesco Guardi, whose atmospheric effects of light and colour Bazzani emulated. When the painting was presented to the National Gallery in 1922 it was attributed to the Venetian painter Jacopo Amigoni.