Artwork
Santa Teresa y su hermano don Rodrigo intentando construir ermitas
Santa Teresa y su hermano don Rodrigo intentando construir ermitas is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Juan García de Miranda. It dates from 1735 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1735, this oil painting by Juan García de Miranda portrays Saint Teresa and her brother Rodrigo engaged in the construction of hermitages. The work exemplifies the late Baroque transition toward Rococo, featuring a tranquil landscape populated by two figures in modest attire, set against a backdrop of trees and a distant building.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents the saintly sister and her sibling as active participants in a humble building task, symbolizing piety expressed through labor. Their gestures—Teresa grasping a sizable stone and Rodrigo holding a smaller one—underscore themes of devotion and collaborative effort in religious life.
Technique & Style
García de Miranda employs chiaroscuro to model the figures, using light and shadow to convey volume and texture. The delicate handling of illumination, combined with a soft palette of reds, whites, and blues, reflects the Rococo’s lighter aesthetic while retaining Baroque depth.
History & Provenance
Born in Madrid to Asturian parents, García de Miranda served as Painter to the King and was known for devotional subjects, especially Immaculate Conceptions. The painting entered the Museo del Prado’s collection, where it remains part of the museum’s holdings of 18th‑century Spanish art.
Context
Operating in the late Baroque period, García de Miranda was a disciple of Juan Delgado and uncle to painter Pedro Rodríguez de Miranda. Despite being born without a right hand, he adapted his technique, a testament to his skill and perseverance within the Spanish court’s artistic milieu.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Juan García de Miranda (1677–1749), was a Spanish painter of the baroque period, a disciple of Juan Delgado and the uncle of Pedro Rodríguez de Miranda.
The marriage at Cana
María Luisa Gabriela de Saboya primera esposa de Felipe V
The Betrothal of the Virgin
Escena de la vida de San Diego (San Diego y un fraile sacando pollos de un cesto)
La última comunión de San Diego de Alcalá
Curación y acción de gracias del príncipe don Carlos. Serie de la Vida de San Diego de Alcalá
The Birth of the Virgin
The Education of Saint Theresa
Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Venus Visiting Vulcan’s Forge
The Harvest or Autumn
Arcadian Landscape with Herdsmen and Cattle
Flight into Egypt
Fisherfolk
Vertumnus and Pomona
Tobias and the Angel
Jacob and Rachel
Peasant Yard
Double portrait of a young couple as Granida and Daiphilo
Italienische Landschaft mit Hirtenszene