Anon. Saint Augustine of Hippo with a Boy on the Beach

An original early 19th-century gouache painting – Saint Augustine of Hippo with a Boy on the Beach.

An exquisite miniature painting in gouache with a devotional subject.

The scene shows Saint Augustine of Hippo (in modern-day Algeria) with a boy who tries to empty the sea into a hole on the beach. The allegorical legend tells of Augustine wandering along a beach attempting to comprehend the mystery of the Holy Trinity. He happens upon a boy who is trying to empty the whole ocean into a hole on the beach. When Augustine points out this this is impossible, the boy famously replies: 'It is no more impossible than what you are trying to do—comprehend the immensity of the mystery of the Holy Trinity with your small intelligence.' Before Augustine could respond further, the child vanished. According to tradition, the boy was either an angel or the Christ child sent to teach the saint a lesson about humility and the limitations of the human mind.

This intensely coloured miniature work, is likely to be Italian, possibly collected on a Grand Tour, being painted in a similar style to Neapolitan School vedute.

In gouache with traces of graphite on cream card. The card has an exceptionally smooth upper surface, whilst the verso is rough, in imitation of ivory or vellum used for portrait miniatures.

Please note the small size of this artwork.