The Mendicant 1868

Mariano Fortuny Marsal made this watercolor painting, ‘The Mendicant’, sometime before his death in 1874. It depicts a religious beggar standing against a neutral backdrop. Living and working in Spain and Italy, Fortuny was well-placed to observe the role of the Catholic Church in everyday life. As we can see, the figure is dressed in a simple brown robe. His worn appearance and the rosary beads hanging from his waist signal a life of poverty dedicated to spiritual devotion. Begging was, and still is, a common sight in many parts of Europe. It was often associated with religious orders, such as the Franciscans, who embraced poverty as a virtue. Fortuny's image invites reflection on the social structures of his time, and on the church’s relationship to the poor. Is he celebrating this religious devotion, or critiquing the social conditions that create such poverty? Historians of art are able to consider these questions through close visual analysis, alongside the study of primary source documents, shedding light on the complex interplay between art, religion, and society.