On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
The Miracle of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga and the Novice Nicolás Celestini (El milagro de san Luis Gonzaga y el novato Nicolás Celestini)
Miguel Cabrera Mexican
Not on view
This scene is a vivid testament of Miguel Cabrera’s close association with the Jesuit order. It depicts Saint Aloysius Gonzaga (1568–1591) healing the dying novice Nicholas Celestini in his cell in Rome. Celestini was wracked by illness and could no longer recognize anything but the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. After receiving a spoonful of the "flour and water" of Gonzaga and invoking the saint’s protection, Gonzaga’s portrait came to life at Celestini’s bedside. The novice, miraculously cured, vowed to defend and promote devotion to the Sacred Heart. Cabrera’s attention to everyday details—the chair, the ewer and aspergillum (used to sprinkle holy water), the striped blanket, and the bowl of holy paste—brings this dramatic episode alive.
Esta escena da testimonio de la estrecha relación de Miguel Cabrera con la Compañía de Jesús. Representa a san Luis Gonzaga (1568–1591), el patrón jesuita de la juventud, sanando en 1765 al novicio Nicolás Celestini, que yacía agonizante en su celda de Roma. Después de recibir el convaleciente una cucharada de la "harina y agua de san Luis", el retrato del santo se activó. Tras su milagrosa curación, Celestini quedó comprometido con la defensa y propagación de la devoción al Sagrado Corazón de Jesús.
La atención que Cabrera brinda a los detalles cotidianos –la silla, el acetre con el hisopo del agua bendita, la frazada barreteada y la mesilla de noche con el pocillo del engrudo bendito– contribuye al verismo del dramático episodio.
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