Juan Ricci de Guevara’s Vita Cycle of Saint Benedict in the Monastery of San Martín in Madrid (1659–1662)

Abstract

The vita cycle of Saint Benedict for the cloister of the Benedictine monastery of San Martín in Madrid was created by the Benedictine scholar, preacher, and artist Juan Ricci de Guevara. The vita cycle emerges as a powerful statement in both contemporaneous debates about the order’s founder Saint Benedict and the Benedictine mission to elevate the mystery of Mary’s Immaculate Conception to Catholic dogma. This article establishes that the works were executed between 1659 and 1662 and reveals the cycle’s intended functions of affirming the legitimacy, prestige, and future continuity of the order, as well as San Martín’s essential position within the Spanish Benedictine congregation.