St. Anthony of Padua

Abstract

Across the central nave from the altar to St. Francis is an altar to one of his followers, St. Anthony of Padua. This statue is located in the last side chapel on the left of the central nave of San Francesco in Monopoli in a Baroque niche. Traditionally, the simplicity of Franciscan robes is a symbol of the Order's vow of poverty. St. Anthony is here portrayed in gold-gilded Franciscan robes, creating an interesting tension between his own humility and the exaltation of his saintly status. Some of the red under-paint shows through the front of the robes where the gold is worn. St. Anthony holds a silver lily in his left hand. In his right hand he holds up the standing Christ Child. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.