Sculpture of a saint

• CE00098
• 1605-1615
• Wood: Carved - Gilted - Painted

Female figure dressed with nun garb and dark mantle. She must have been holding some object in her right hand, dissapeared nowadays; in her left hand and leaning on her hip, she holds a closed book.

Because of the similarities between this sculpture and that of Saint Agnes, also in the Museum, it seems possible that they were part of the same sculptural work: a small or medium altarpiece probably, in which these sculptures might have been in a lateral panel or area.

The identification of the Saint is complex, as the main attribute is missing. Due to the book, she has been identified as Saint Teresa, Saint Clare, or Saint Catherine of Siena. Due to the dark mantle, it does not seem likely to represent Saint Teresa, who, as a Carmelite, dressed with a white mantle over a dark tunic. Saint Clare on the other hand, as founder of the Poor Clares, is represented in the orders dark mantle over dark tunics. Saint Catherine on the other hand is usually represented with Dominican clothing, dark mantle over white tunic. Because of the preservation of the tunic, the colors are not completely clear, depending on the color she might have been Saint Clare or Saint Catherine of Siena.

This sculpture, as well as Saint Agnes', belong the the Baroque Andalusian School, and have been linked to the workshop of Pablo de Rojas or the workshop of Alonso de Mena.