Circle of Juan de Valmaseda (Valmaseda, Vizcaya,... Lot n° 12

Circle of Juan de Valmaseda (Valmaseda, Vizcaya, circa 1487-1488 - Palencia, circa 1576). Circa 1520 - 1540. Saint John the Evangelist. Figure from a Calvary. Carved, gilded, and polychromed wooden sculpture. 62 x 27 x 16 cm. Small and delicate sculpture depicting the Beloved Disciple. Small and delicate yet dramatic since, due to its composition and gestures, it seems clear that it was carved for the Calvary of an altarpiece, and these were generally placed in the central compartment at the top - the attic. There is no doubt about its belonging to an altarpiece since the back is unpainted and has barely even been smoothed down, tasks that were left undone when the piece was going to be placed where its back would not be seen by the congregation. Saint John appears in contrapposto, standing on a small mound with his feet at an oblique angle. He moves his left leg forward, giving dynamism to the composition, so that the position of the knee can be guessed at under the tunic. He turns his head to direct his pleading and sorrowful gaze towards the empty cross, deep sorrow underlined by the gesture of placing his right hand on his chest, while the left is kept down, making a declamatory gesture. Thisbeardless young man has an oval-shaped head with a powerful ,straightnose, almond-shaped eyes with very marked eyelids, arched eyebrows, a slightly open mouth with thick lips, and a prominent chin. He has a blonde mane composed of bulky, barely individualised locks arranged asymmetrically, falling down his back and right shoulder, leaving the left ear visible. He wears a golden tunic that falls almost to the ankles and a mantle of the same color, knotted at one of the shoulders, covering his torso and falling below the right arm. It is traversed by sweet, soft folds with a rounded profile, and decorated with sgraffito vegetation and geometric motifs. Both garments stick to the body, so that its formcan be perceived underneath, in the same way as with the knee we mentioned earlier. The waythe tunic fallsalso looks very natural, as it forms vertical folds. Although the carving cannot be conceived as a sculpture by Juan de Valmasedahimself (ca.1487/1488-ca.1576), it is undoubtedly carved by someone within what we can call his circle of followers, as it presents some stylistic features characteristic of the sculptor, such as the composition organized in a slight curve or the expressiveness of the dramatic face. There are numerous Calvaries that have been related to the work of Juan de Valmaseda, one of the most relevant Renaissance sculptors in the Palencian region, an areawhere, of course, some of the most illustrious disciples of the great Alonso Berruguete (ca.1486-1561) worked, such as Manuel Álvarez (ca.1517-1587/1589) and Francisco Giralte (ca.1500-1576). Highlights from among these calvaries would include the dramatic and colossal sculpture that tops the main altarpiece of the Cathedral of Palencia, probably the best of all the specimens, that of the altarpiece of the chapel of San Ildefonso also in the Palencian cathedral, the one kept in one of the chapels in the ambulatory of the Cathedral of León, or those that can be seen in two altarpieces in the rural area of Palencia in the churches of the Assumption of Lantadilla and Santa Columba of Villamediana. We would like to thank Dr. Javier Baladrón, art historian, for the identification and cataloguing of this work.