Lucas Valdés, The Apotheosis of St. Ferdinand

Late 19th century
Hospital de los Venerables Sacerdotes, Seville, Spain

The figure seated on the clouds may be Ecclesia, the Church. She wears liturgical vestments and holds a temple in her right hand. With her left she accords a halo to King Ferdinand. Most portraits picture him with a crown, a globe, and a sword, but here the sword is replaced by a short rod with points at either end. The same rod appears in a santo of Ferdinand in Mission San Fernando, California (Neuerburg, 13).

St. Ferdinand is flanked by allegorical figures of War and Peace. On his right, War holds a helmet and a broken chain, the latter symbolizing the end of Moorish rule. There seems to be a maquette of a castle on her head – representing Castille? On Ferdinand's left Peace holds a green branch in her right hand and a ripe sheaf of grain in her left.

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Photographed at the site by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.