Saint Clare of Assisi with the Monstrance, Italian school of the 17th century

Description

This oil on panel depicts Saint Clare of Assisi half-length, against a dark background. Dressed in the habit of the Poor Clares, wearing a white wimple and a black veil, she bears a discreet halo. The saint holds with both hands a gilded-metal tower-form monstrance, surmounted by a cross and revealing the Eucharistic Host. Her hand placed around the foot of the goldsmith’s work is protected by a white cloth, a sign of respect towards the Blessed Sacrament and a reminder of the legendary episode of the defence of the convent of San Damiano. The face, with delicate flesh tones and a lowered, devout gaze, belongs to the tradition of 17th-century Italian religious painting. The single-piece panel displays clearly visible tool marks on the reverse, as well as an old typewritten label « s. Chiara ».