PAIR OF POLYCHROMED WOODEN SCULPTURES. “SAINTS APOSTLES JOHN AND PAUL”. CASTILLA SCHOOL, 16TH CENTURY.

Pair of sculptures in polychrome wood. "Saint John and Saint Paul." Castilian school, 16th century. Both male figures have been represented standing, with their main iconographic attributes and dressed in the timeless tunics that the time reserved to highlight sacred people. The youngest has a chalice in his hand, from which comes a serpent, and an eagle at his feet; The bearded man presents a sword of which the hilt is visible. The first is Saint John, with the eagle of the Tetramorfos alluding to his Gospel, and the chalice related to the episode of the Golden Legend of Jacobo de la Vorágine in which he says that the Emperor Domitian wanted to kill him with poisoned wine, which he escaped. in the form of a serpent after the evangelist blessed the cup. The second is Saint Paul, with that characteristic appearance that relates him to much earlier early Christian works and with the sword of his martyrdom, which also refers to a text from his Letter to the Ephesians. Stylistically, both round devotional carvings show a marked Italian Renaissance influence in cloth, contrapposto, proportions and gestures, distancing the works from the other trend of the time that was closer to Flemish models, which preferred greater drama. The Gothic has been left behind, as demonstrated by the naturalness of faces, folds, anatomy and gestures, after much effort. It was first necessary to accustom the clientele to the new tastes and for the artists to learn the technical and aesthetic innovations brought about by the arrival of the Renaissance, which was developed at different times and at very different levels depending on the regions or the artists. Compare the works, for example, with the Saint John of the Circle by Juan Rodríguez from the Simón Díaz Foundation (work deposited in the Museum of the Fairs of Medina del Campo, Valladolid).

· Size: 26x26x76 cms.