The Good Shepherd

Cano produced two paintings for the altarpiece of San Francisco in the parish church of Santiago in Madrid in the 1650s. The former parish church of Santiago formed part of the early medieval Christian nucleus of the town, along with five other churches. Its importance was intensified due to its proximity to the Alcanzar and thanks to the particular support it received from several monarchs, among them Philip II, who was said to have a special devotion for the image of the Virgin of Hope that was venerated there. Precisely the proximity to the residence of the Habsburgs meant that throughout the 17th century various reforms were proposed at the head of the temple, aimed at widening a back alleyway, regularising it with respect to the borders of the houses of the Count of Lemos. The planning was the responsibility of Juan Gómez de Mora, who signed two projects between 1642 and 1648…