Miracle of St. Ildefonsus

Juan de Valdés Leal depicted the miracle associated with Saint Ildefonsus, the seventh-century Archbishop of Toledo. According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared to Ildefonsus and presented him with a chasuble as reward for his defense of her perpetual virginity. This subject was popular in Spanish Baroque art, especially in Toledo and Seville.

Valdés Leal was born in Seville in 1622 and became one of the leading painters of the Spanish Baroque alongside his friend Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Together they founded the Seville Academy in 1660. While Murillo favored soft, idealized religious imagery, Valdés Leal developed a more dramatic and visceral style, particularly in his famous vanitas paintings at the Hospital de la Caridad.

His wife Isabella Carasquilla was also a painter, and their children continued the family's artistic tradition. Valdés Leal worked as painter, sculptor, and architect throughout Seville, creating works for numerous churches and religious institutions. This painting is now in a private collection.