Evaristo González
Puerto Rican, born 1931
Saint Anthony / San Antonio, 1996
Polychromed wood
12 x 4 ¾ x 4 1/8 inches
Lent from a private Florida collection

Saint Anthony (1195–1231) is often depicted according to a sixteenth-century story that the Christ Child came down to rest on a book as the saint pondered the Incarnation, or humanity of Christ. He is commonly invoked as the finder of lost objects and patron of lovers and marriage. Young women often seek his assistance in finding a mate. If he fails, the santo is often punished by turning him upside down or by taking the Christ Child, which is detachable, away from him. Saint Anthony is the patron saint of the towns Barranquitas, Ceiba, Dorado, Guayama, Isabela and Naranjito where his feast day is celebrated on June 13.