Der hl. Petrus von Alcántara wandelt über den Fluss Quadiana

This canvas depicting Saint Peter of Alcantara walking across the river Guadiana, dated to around 1690, addresses one of the miracles attributed to the Spanish Franciscan mystic and reformer who was canonized in 1669. Peter of Alcantara was a central figure in the reform of the Franciscan order and a spiritual director of Teresa of Avila; his canonization generated a wave of commemorative imagery across Spain and Spanish territories. The miracle of crossing a river — drawing on the model of Christ walking on water — affirmed the saint's supernatural intimacy with divine power. Coello, painting in the final phase of his career, brings considerable compositional confidence to the scene, combining landscape elements with the figure's dynamic movement in a way that reveals his ongoing dialogue with Flemish landscape conventions he had absorbed through prints and contact with northern European painters active in Madrid.

The river surface is handled with thin, translucent washes that suggest reflective water without overworking the paint. The saint's robes are painted with vigorous, directional strokes that imply motion, contrasting with the still, horizontal landscape background.