Ángeles de la bóveda nordeste

SeeMiracle of Saint Anthony of Padua.

The Chapel of San Antonio de la Florida has a Greek cross floor plan. Goya produced mural paintings for the vaults and lunettes of the arms of the cross, as well as the vaults of the presbytery and the foot of the church. The chosen theme for these locations are angels, a subject closely linked to the worship of Saint Anthony since the novenas (prayers repeated over nine days) dedicated to the saints in the time of Goya always included the cult of angels.

The majority of the figures are female, since they are also allegorical representations of the Virtues. The angels are depicted as beautiful women of Goya's time, dressed according to the period. They are very human figures, and although they are not portraits of real people, Goya did make use of models that he also employed in other works.

In this vault the angels lift some curtains as if they were pulling back the drapes in a theatre to present us with the scene of the Miracle of Saint Anthony of Padua (Milagro de San Antonio de Padua) which is taking place in the cupola.