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Pedro de Ávila (Valladolid, 1678 - 1742)
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Description
Pedro de Ávila (Valladolid, 1678 - 1742)
"Saint Catherine of Alexandria"
Carved, polychromed and gilded wooden sculpture. Circa 1730.
Maximum measurements: 110 x 55 x 46 cm.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria is one of the most famous holy martyrs of the saints, which is proven by the multitude of sculptures and paintings that depict her. In this exquisite sculpture, which stands out for its high quality, both for the workmanship of the sculpting and for its polychroming, is undoubtedly the work of Pedro de Ávila (1678-1755), the most outstanding sculptor in the Valladolid area of the first four decades of the 18th century and therefore one of the most important in Castile at the time.
Ávila has portrayed the martyr in a standing position and with her left leg slightly forward, conforming to the typical contrapposto that he liked to give to his characters. She raises her right hand, in which she would have held the sword with which she was martyred - now missing, while her left arm is arranged obliquely, in which hand she would have held the other instrument of her martyrdom: the wheel with blades. Two nails are still visible in that area in which the wheel would have been inserted. Given the similarity that this sculpture has with others of the saint carved by Ávila, it is probable that the severed head of Emperor Maximian, her persecutor and murderer, would have been at her feet, although it is also claimed that her executioner was Emperor Maxentius.
She wears a green tunic that completely covers her body except for the tips of her feet and a red cloak is thrown over her shoulder and tied at the waist. Both garments are polychromed with lavish brush-tipped decorations consisting of various floral motifs in multicoloured and gold tones. In the case of the tunic, a medallion protrudes from the chest in which the martyrdom of the saint is depicted, the beheading, by a henchman who raises his sword while grabbing her by the hair. On the edge of the cloak itself we can see a delicious golden border with very vibrant plant motifs. Both garments are faceted with a multitude of Berninesque or stabbed folds –which Ávila introduced to Castile in the early 1710s– that create subtle interplay of chiaroscuro on their surfaces. In the case of the mantle, it is made up of large indentations located on various planes.
This sculpture can be attributed to Pedro de Ávila beyond any doubt given the presence of all the elements of the sculptor's classic style (facial features –almond-shaped eyes with a slight bulge in the lower area, a wide nose with a wide and flattened septum, a mouth with in which the teeth and the tip of the tongue are carved-, the classic arrangement of the hands and fingers, one of the legs protruding, feet forming a right angle divided by a piece of tunic, etc.). The head, covered by a very compact and symmetrical mane of hair that covers the ears, follows the general parameters typical to Ávila over his last productive decade, that of the 1730s, in which the facial features, and even the canon of the sculpture itself, are noticeably stylised. It can be linked to the Saint Joachim and Saint Anne kept in the Basilica of Gran Promesa in Valladolid due to the arrangement of the body and its polychroming, while the head is typical of those of his Marian images and also those of the female saints, such as his various carvings of Mary Magdalene.
We would like to thank Mr. Javier Baladrón, PhD in Art History, for identifying and cataloguing this sculpture.
"Saint Catherine of Alexandria"
Carved, polychromed and gilded wooden sculpture. Circa 1730.
Maximum measurements: 110 x 55 x 46 cm.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria is one of the most famous holy martyrs of the saints, which is proven by the multitude of sculptures and paintings that depict her. In this exquisite sculpture, which stands out for its high quality, both for the workmanship of the sculpting and for its polychroming, is undoubtedly the work of Pedro de Ávila (1678-1755), the most outstanding sculptor in the Valladolid area of the first four decades of the 18th century and therefore one of the most important in Castile at the time.
Ávila has portrayed the martyr in a standing position and with her left leg slightly forward, conforming to the typical contrapposto that he liked to give to his characters. She raises her right hand, in which she would have held the sword with which she was martyred - now missing, while her left arm is arranged obliquely, in which hand she would have held the other instrument of her martyrdom: the wheel with blades. Two nails are still visible in that area in which the wheel would have been inserted. Given the similarity that this sculpture has with others of the saint carved by Ávila, it is probable that the severed head of Emperor Maximian, her persecutor and murderer, would have been at her feet, although it is also claimed that her executioner was Emperor Maxentius.
She wears a green tunic that completely covers her body except for the tips of her feet and a red cloak is thrown over her shoulder and tied at the waist. Both garments are polychromed with lavish brush-tipped decorations consisting of various floral motifs in multicoloured and gold tones. In the case of the tunic, a medallion protrudes from the chest in which the martyrdom of the saint is depicted, the beheading, by a henchman who raises his sword while grabbing her by the hair. On the edge of the cloak itself we can see a delicious golden border with very vibrant plant motifs. Both garments are faceted with a multitude of Berninesque or stabbed folds –which Ávila introduced to Castile in the early 1710s– that create subtle interplay of chiaroscuro on their surfaces. In the case of the mantle, it is made up of large indentations located on various planes.
This sculpture can be attributed to Pedro de Ávila beyond any doubt given the presence of all the elements of the sculptor's classic style (facial features –almond-shaped eyes with a slight bulge in the lower area, a wide nose with a wide and flattened septum, a mouth with in which the teeth and the tip of the tongue are carved-, the classic arrangement of the hands and fingers, one of the legs protruding, feet forming a right angle divided by a piece of tunic, etc.). The head, covered by a very compact and symmetrical mane of hair that covers the ears, follows the general parameters typical to Ávila over his last productive decade, that of the 1730s, in which the facial features, and even the canon of the sculpture itself, are noticeably stylised. It can be linked to the Saint Joachim and Saint Anne kept in the Basilica of Gran Promesa in Valladolid due to the arrangement of the body and its polychroming, while the head is typical of those of his Marian images and also those of the female saints, such as his various carvings of Mary Magdalene.
We would like to thank Mr. Javier Baladrón, PhD in Art History, for identifying and cataloguing this sculpture.
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Pedro de Ávila (Valladolid, 1678 - 1742)
"Saint Catherine of Alexandria"
Carved, polychromed and gilded wooden sculpture. Circa 1730.
Maximum measurements: 110 x 55 x 46 cm.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria is one of the most famous holy martyrs of the saints, which is proven by the multitude of sculptures and paintings that depict her. In this exquisite sculpture, which stands out for its high quality, both for the workmanship of the sculpting and for its polychroming, is undoubtedly the work of Pedro de Ávila (1678-1755), the most outstanding sculptor in the Valladolid area of the first four decades of the 18th century and therefore one of the most important in Castile at the time.
Ávila has portrayed the martyr in a standing position and with her left leg slightly forward, conforming to the typical contrapposto that he liked to give to his characters. She raises her right hand, in which she would have held the sword with which she was martyred - now missing, while her left arm is arranged obliquely, in which hand she would have held the other instrument of her martyrdom: the wheel with blades. Two nails are still visible in that area in which the wheel would have been inserted. Given the similarity that this sculpture has with others of the saint carved by Ávila, it is probable that the severed head of Emperor Maximian, her persecutor and murderer, would have been at her feet, although it is also claimed that her executioner was Emperor Maxentius.
She wears a green tunic that completely covers her body except for the tips of her feet and a red cloak is thrown over her shoulder and tied at the waist. Both garments are polychromed with lavish brush-tipped decorations consisting of various floral motifs in multicoloured and gold tones. In the case of the tunic, a medallion protrudes from the chest in which the martyrdom of the saint is depicted, the beheading, by a henchman who raises his sword while grabbing her by the hair. On the edge of the cloak itself we can see a delicious golden border with very vibrant plant motifs. Both garments are faceted with a multitude of Berninesque or stabbed folds –which Ávila introduced to Castile in the early 1710s– that create subtle interplay of chiaroscuro on their surfaces. In the case of the mantle, it is made up of large indentations located on various planes.
This sculpture can be attributed to Pedro de Ávila beyond any doubt given the presence of all the elements of the sculptor's classic style (facial features –almond-shaped eyes with a slight bulge in the lower area, a wide nose with a wide and flattened septum, a mouth with in which the teeth and the tip of the tongue are carved-, the classic arrangement of the hands and fingers, one of the legs protruding, feet forming a right angle divided by a piece of tunic, etc.). The head, covered by a very compact and symmetrical mane of hair that covers the ears, follows the general parameters typical to Ávila over his last productive decade, that of the 1730s, in which the facial features, and even the canon of the sculpture itself, are noticeably stylised. It can be linked to the Saint Joachim and Saint Anne kept in the Basilica of Gran Promesa in Valladolid due to the arrangement of the body and its polychroming, while the head is typical of those of his Marian images and also those of the female saints, such as his various carvings of Mary Magdalene.
We would like to thank Mr. Javier Baladrón, PhD in Art History, for identifying and cataloguing this sculpture.
"Saint Catherine of Alexandria"
Carved, polychromed and gilded wooden sculpture. Circa 1730.
Maximum measurements: 110 x 55 x 46 cm.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria is one of the most famous holy martyrs of the saints, which is proven by the multitude of sculptures and paintings that depict her. In this exquisite sculpture, which stands out for its high quality, both for the workmanship of the sculpting and for its polychroming, is undoubtedly the work of Pedro de Ávila (1678-1755), the most outstanding sculptor in the Valladolid area of the first four decades of the 18th century and therefore one of the most important in Castile at the time.
Ávila has portrayed the martyr in a standing position and with her left leg slightly forward, conforming to the typical contrapposto that he liked to give to his characters. She raises her right hand, in which she would have held the sword with which she was martyred - now missing, while her left arm is arranged obliquely, in which hand she would have held the other instrument of her martyrdom: the wheel with blades. Two nails are still visible in that area in which the wheel would have been inserted. Given the similarity that this sculpture has with others of the saint carved by Ávila, it is probable that the severed head of Emperor Maximian, her persecutor and murderer, would have been at her feet, although it is also claimed that her executioner was Emperor Maxentius.
She wears a green tunic that completely covers her body except for the tips of her feet and a red cloak is thrown over her shoulder and tied at the waist. Both garments are polychromed with lavish brush-tipped decorations consisting of various floral motifs in multicoloured and gold tones. In the case of the tunic, a medallion protrudes from the chest in which the martyrdom of the saint is depicted, the beheading, by a henchman who raises his sword while grabbing her by the hair. On the edge of the cloak itself we can see a delicious golden border with very vibrant plant motifs. Both garments are faceted with a multitude of Berninesque or stabbed folds –which Ávila introduced to Castile in the early 1710s– that create subtle interplay of chiaroscuro on their surfaces. In the case of the mantle, it is made up of large indentations located on various planes.
This sculpture can be attributed to Pedro de Ávila beyond any doubt given the presence of all the elements of the sculptor's classic style (facial features –almond-shaped eyes with a slight bulge in the lower area, a wide nose with a wide and flattened septum, a mouth with in which the teeth and the tip of the tongue are carved-, the classic arrangement of the hands and fingers, one of the legs protruding, feet forming a right angle divided by a piece of tunic, etc.). The head, covered by a very compact and symmetrical mane of hair that covers the ears, follows the general parameters typical to Ávila over his last productive decade, that of the 1730s, in which the facial features, and even the canon of the sculpture itself, are noticeably stylised. It can be linked to the Saint Joachim and Saint Anne kept in the Basilica of Gran Promesa in Valladolid due to the arrangement of the body and its polychroming, while the head is typical of those of his Marian images and also those of the female saints, such as his various carvings of Mary Magdalene.
We would like to thank Mr. Javier Baladrón, PhD in Art History, for identifying and cataloguing this sculpture.
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