Colonial School. Los Lugo Circle . New Granada. 17th century.

Colonial School. Los Lugo Circle . New Granada. 17th century.'Saint Francis Borgia' Monumental and magnificent carved, gilded and polychromed wooden sculpture with 'estofado' decoration. 182 x 81 x 81 cm. A magnificent sculpture, highly comparable in anatomy and forms to the pair of Jesuit saints (Saint Francis Borgia and Saint Ignatius of Loyola) by Juan Martínez Montañés (1568-1649), created between 1624-1625 for the Church of the Annunciation in Seville, originally the Professed House of the Society of Jesus and currently used as a university chapel. It is evident that the model is that of the sculpture of Saint Francis Borgia, which is not surprising, as the influence of the Seville Master was decisive in the training of the sculptors of New Granada. The figures in the church in Seville wear black, Jesuit cassocks, but they are considered to require extra clothing. However, the cassock on this sculpture is richly decorated with golden scrolls, as befits the 17th century. Nevertheless, the faces and hands are very similar to the sculptures in Seville in their position, depth, anatomy, movements, and foreshortening. We base our attribution on the significant coincidence of artistic traits with the large-scale Saint Ignatius, located on the Altar of the Church of San Ignacio in Tunja, and catalogued as being made by the Los Lugo Circle. The position of the saint is identical, as is the habit. They have the same decoration and sculptural quality in faces and hands. Without a doubt, we can attribute its creation to an artist in Pedro de Lugo's workshop, who could well have been the master himself. In the aforementioned altarpiece, Saint Francis Xavier and Saint Aloysius Gonzaga flank Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who presides over them. As stated by Adrián Contreras-Guerrero, 'thanks to Father Mercado, we know that the three central images of said altarpiece [...], were commissioned in Santafé,' which reaffirms our attribution to the Los Lugo Circle. As indicated by Francisco J. Herrera and Lázaro Gila, 'referring to Pedro de Lugo Albarracín, implies delving into the little-known field of the Neogranadine sculptural workshops of the 17th century, which, judging by the remaining artworks, must have been intensely active artisically, supported by the growing demand of private individuals, clergy, religious orders, cathedrals, and parishes, both in the capital and in surrounding localities. Just as names such as Antonio Acero de la Cruz, Baltasar de Figueroa, and Gregorio Vázquez de Arce are mentioned that express the creative maturity of the Santafé workshop in painting, Pedro de Lugo Albarracín and some others with the same surname (Salvador or Lorenzo) are predominantly cited when referring to the progress that occurred in sculpture during that century in colonial Santafé and other cities such as Tunja.' Both scholars analyse Pedro de Lugo's preference for the figure of Christ at different moments of his Passion, but they also point out that he and his workshop created images of saints and some reliquaries, a fact that is closely related to our figure. They mention, for example, 'two sculptures of the Saint of Assisi, located in the church of the convent of the order in Tunja.' One of them 'has similarities to the homonymous Saint of the altarpiece of Saint Francis Borgia, in the Jesuit temple of Bogotá, also already related to Lugo.' Regarding the origin of the sculptor Pedro de Lugo, we read again in Herrera and Lázaro that, 'taking into account his Andalusian ancestry, his possible birth in Jerez, and the close relations that he and his ancestors would have had with Andalusia, the most suitable place to imagine he had his training is Seville. Well before going to Latin America for the first time, or in a youthful stay, Pedro de Lugo could have trained as a sculptor and caster in the Andalusian capital. Ig is worth noting that the city had an important establishment for the production of artillery, where he would have learnt the techniques of alloying iron, copper, and tin, and even lead and other soft metals.' Pedro and his brothers Alonso and Juan maintained an active workshop of sculpture and casting in different materials in Santafé in the central decades of the 17th century, whose influence extends beyond the capital, reaching various locations, especially Tunja. Regarding the depicted character, Javier Baladrón, Doctor in Art History, explains that 'Saint Francis Borgia (1510-1572) was a Valencian saint who became the third General of the Society of Jesus. One of the best-known episodes of his life, which would become vital in his iconography, is that of the death of Queen Isabel of Portugal, wife of Charles V, in 1539. She was considered to be one of the most beautiful women in the world. This death marked him so much that he always commented that it was the day of his conversion: 'For the empress who died on a day like today. For what the Lord did in me because of her death. For the years that mark my conversion today.' Subsequently, he organised the entourage that escorted the queen's body to the Royal Chapel of Granada. Before it was buried, he observed the disfigured face of the queen, which became one of his most recurring attributes, and he was asked if he swore that it was the queen, to which he replied, 'I have brought the body of Our Lady in strict custody from Toledo to Granada, but I dare not swear that it is herself, whose beauty I so admired.'' Baladrón continues to describe this Saint Francis Borgia: 'a still and meditative figure. He stands upright, with his right leg slightly forward, creating a contrapposto that gives the composition dynamism. This is also contributed to by the opening of the arms in different directions and the turning of the face to contemplate the cross. We do not know if originally the skull could have been in one of the two hands since it is currently held to the ground by a rod. He extends his left arm, making a declamatory gesture with his hand while pointing to the royal skull at his feet; at the same time, he flexes his right arm, bringing the crucifix that he holds in that hand closer to his face. The hands are very delicate, elegant, and realistically accentuated, so that the bones, joints, veins, lines, and even the nails are carefully defined. The head is the most impressive part of the whole, with each of the facial features and the locks that make up his sparse beard and hair perfectly and skilfully delineated. The sculptor has accurately captured the facial features of the saint, so he has managed to make a portrait, which was known through the death mask that was taken of him. He wears the typical Jesuit habit consisting of black cassock and cape, decorated with a dense network of delicate golden vegetation motifs that completely cover both garments, as if with horror vacui. Likewise, both garments are traversed by countless moving and dynamic folds, most of them soft and falling vertically, which break up the surfaces creating a succession of concave and convex surfaces. This is especially visible on the back where we find a succession of rigid tubular folds.' We would like to thank Javier Baladrón, Doctor in Art History, for the formal and iconographic description of the sculpture. Reference bibliography: - Contreras-Guerrero, Adrián. (2019) 'Escultura en Colombia. Focos productores y circulación de obras (siglos XVI-XVIII)”. Universidad de Granada. - Herrera, Francisco Javier y Gila Medina, Lázaro. (2018). “Pedro de Lugo Albarracín y el desarrollo del pleno barroco en la escultura neogranadina del siglo XVII”, capítulo IX en “El triunfo del barroco en la escultura andaluza e hispanoamericana”. (p. 305-365). Universidad de Granada. Spanish Americas.