St Francis
Statuette
ca. 1700-1750 (made)
ca. 1700-1750 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This is a wooden statuette is a reduced variante (about half size) of a celebrated figure of Saint Francis of Assisi by Pedro de Mena in the Treasury at Toledo Cathedral. According to a fifteenth century account, St. Francis was miraculously seen standing in his tomb at Assisi, as he is represented here. Pedro de Mena, born Granada in 1628, was a pupil to Alonso Cano. In 1658 he transferred his studio to Malaga, where he died in 1688. He was one of the foremost sculptors of his generation in Spain.
This statuette is difficult to date accurately as it is a copy after another famous sculpture. Its slitghly freer folds in the drapery would however suggest a datation in the early eighteenth century. Pedro de Mena's statue in Toledo was the object of great veneration and an number of sculptures based on it were produced form the seventeenth century onwards, becoming cult figures in churches and chapels.
This statuette is difficult to date accurately as it is a copy after another famous sculpture. Its slitghly freer folds in the drapery would however suggest a datation in the early eighteenth century. Pedro de Mena's statue in Toledo was the object of great veneration and an number of sculptures based on it were produced form the seventeenth century onwards, becoming cult figures in churches and chapels.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | St Francis (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Polychromed pinewood, cord and glass |
Brief description | Statuette, painted wood, St. Francis, after Pedro de Mena, Spanish (Andalusian), ca. 1700-1750 |
Physical description | Wood carved and painted statuette of Saint Francis. He stands, hands clasped togehter in front of him, covered by sleeves of his robe. Right foot extended and bare. Eyes turned upward and mouth open slightly. He stands on a painted base. |
Dimensions |
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Object history | Bought in 1866 from Vavaletti in Madrid. |
Production | A copy of a larger work by Pedro de Mena (1628-1688). |
Subject depicted | |
Summary | This is a wooden statuette is a reduced variante (about half size) of a celebrated figure of Saint Francis of Assisi by Pedro de Mena in the Treasury at Toledo Cathedral. According to a fifteenth century account, St. Francis was miraculously seen standing in his tomb at Assisi, as he is represented here. Pedro de Mena, born Granada in 1628, was a pupil to Alonso Cano. In 1658 he transferred his studio to Malaga, where he died in 1688. He was one of the foremost sculptors of his generation in Spain. This statuette is difficult to date accurately as it is a copy after another famous sculpture. Its slitghly freer folds in the drapery would however suggest a datation in the early eighteenth century. Pedro de Mena's statue in Toledo was the object of great veneration and an number of sculptures based on it were produced form the seventeenth century onwards, becoming cult figures in churches and chapels. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | 331-1866 |
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Record created | August 15, 2008 |
Record URL |
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