An antique oil on board painting depicting Saint Martin de Porres painted by unidentified Peruvian artist circa 1880. Unsigned. Fine example of Spanish school Ecclesiastical paintings. Please refer to the original paper labels and black and white photo from the Maine antique Digest, November, 1985 depicting Nonesuch gallery exhibiting this painting. Martin de Porres, the first saint of African descent in Latin America, was born in the late 16th century, the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a freed slave woman. For most of his life he was linked to the Dominican monastery of Nuestra Senora del Rosario. The miracles attributed to him are largely related to the healing of the sick. Also, and in accordance with another characteristic of certain Christian saints, such as St. Francis or St. Anthony, he is said to have established extremely close ties with all sorts of animals, who he also tended to in his apothecary. St. Martin de Porres was beatified by Pope Gregory XVI on October 29, 1837 and canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 6, 1962. One of a kind artwork. Antique Religious Fine Art and Folk Paintings For Collectors.