Label on the back of the stretcher.

Bibliography:

- Artur Ramón Art, Barcelona. "Analogies", autumn 2013. Illustrated on pages 13 and 33 of the catalogue.

- Fernando Durán, Madrid, 30 November 2011. Lot 96, illustrated on page 19 of the catalogue.

Religion and nature. Faith and flora.

In this oil painting by the Madrid-born Francisco Collantes, the saint hermit Mary of Egypt retires to pray in the middle of nature. She occupies the right-hand corner of the composition, and the rest is a display of lush vegetation. Saint Mary of Egypt is purging her sins as a former prostitute and is presented to us from the front, very mystical, dressed in a coat of her own hair made of ashes. Before her we see the three loaves of bread on which she was to be fed frugally for sixty years. In the distance, in the background, Zosimo appears to give her communion. By the time he arrives, she is already dead.