UPDATE: Painting of Ignatius

At the end of October 2011, we posted an entry with photos and a request for information about a painting that we thought depicted St. Ignatius of Loyola.  We are grateful for the following opinion from a Spanish art expert with connections to Prep teacher Jaime Ball: "Well, I'm still not positive if it's New World or Spanish, but I've come to the conclusion that it is not a painting of St. Ignatius Loyola, but instead an image of the Virgin and Child Appearing to St. Philip Neri by Guido Reni."

The image of the Reni portrait of St. Philip Neri, along with the images of the painting in our collection, are included here.  Any light that you might be able to shed on this mystery would be greatly appreciated.

Unidentified painting in the Villiger Archives

Guido Reni (1575-1642)'s portrait of St. Philip Neri

Painting found, information needed!

     

     In October of 2009, while searching a storage area on the 4^th floor of Villiger Hall (the name students selected for the 1968 post-fire Prep building, and, yes, there is a partial 4^thfloor!), I came across the painting of St. Ignatius of Loyola pictured here.  No one seems to know anything about this 25” x 19” work, and I could find no artist’s signature or date.  My hunch is that this is a European work from the late 18th century. 

     Jaime Ball, one of the art teachers at the Prep, has a friend on the staff of the Philadelphia Museum of Art who has graciously volunteered to take a look at it, give an assessment of the age and origin, and make recommendations for proper conservation. 

     If you have any ideas or information, please get in touch.