Vera effigies of the Venerable Luis Beltrán
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Description
Juan Sariñena, an artist whose paintings captured the religious spirit of the Counter-Reformation, painted this vera effigie (true likeness) of the Venerable Louis Bertrand (Luis Beltrán in Spanish). It is known that an artist, Juan Sariñena, painted this Dominican missionary on the day of his death in October 1581 at the Dominican Convent in Valencia, so that there should be a true likeness with which to remember him. This is therefore a vera effigie of Louis Bertrand, who died with a reputation for sanctity, and who would be beatified in 1608 and canonised in 1671. His eyes are closed and his arms are in the position in which they were placed when his body was displayed for public viewing. An inscription at the top identifies it as the true likeness of the saint, accompanied by the monograms of Jesus and Mary.