Bartolomé-Esteban de Murillo
St. Thomas of Villanueva Giving Alms to the Poor

1678
Oil on canvas
Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California

The charity of St. Thomas of Villanueva (Villanova) is pictured in action in the lower half of the painting and allegorically in the upper half, where the personification of Charity suckles her infants. The church in the background is the cathedral of Valencia, with its characteristic bell tower, the "Micalet." St. Thomas was Archbishop of Valencia and it was there that he was most renowned for his charity.

The saint's feast is September 22. See Butler, III, 613-17 and Acta Sanctorum, September vol. 5, 799-992.

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