Attributed to Louis Du Guernier l'Ancien (c. 1550-1620)...

Attributed to Louis Du Guernier l'Ancien (c. 1550-1620) Saint Dominique de Guzman (1170 - 1221, canonized in 1234) Gouache on vellum On back, label with handwritten annotations probably dating from the early 20th century, suggesting attribution to "Louis Duguernier, le vieux (...) peintre du Duc de Guise" and stating "dans le bas, marque de la collection Egyman". 21.2 x 14.5 cm (view) Provenance : - perhaps Charles Eggiman (1863-1948), bookseller, publisher, Geneva and Paris (his mark supposedly present on the back of the gouache). According to a legend similar to those of several births of saints (St. Isidore, John Chrysostom) [9], after going on pilgrimage to the Abbey of St. Dominic in Silos, Dominic's mother (Dominicus in Latin, meaning "he who belongs to the Lord") saw in a dream, during her pregnancy, a dog holding a lighted torch in its mouth to illuminate the world. This dream summed up the life of the future saint, whose first name was chosen in reference to the abbot Dominic de Silos, venerated by his mother. Expert: Pierre-Antoine Martenet