Saint Ambrose (San Ambrosio)

It is usually accepted that Goya painted this set of works following his trips to Andalusia (1792-3 and 1796-7), where he would have had the opportunity to see two paintings from Seville Cathedral dedicated to Saint Leander and Saint Isidore by Murillo, which may have had an influence on his depictions of the saints.

Saint Ambrose is sitting down, writing in a book he is holding and looking at the sky, as does Saint Augustine in another painting from this series. His gaze is less intense, but he is fully concentrated, and appears to be sustaining a divine dialogue. The figure dominates, monumental, jutting out against the dark, neutral background which contrasts sharply with the radiance of the white tones. The miter also reflects light on the left hand side of the composition. As in the case of the other paintings in this series - excepting the penitent Saint Jerome - we do not find the iconography we might expect, in this case the beehive and crosier.

In the case of Saint Ambrose, the influence of Murillo's Saint Leander is more than clear, although the composition is lacking the anecdotal elements of Murillo's work, resulting in a more timeless image in line with the aesthetic and religious spirit of the age.