Portuguese school. Mid XVIII century. Lot n° 25

Portuguese school. Mid 18th century. "Saint Peter in chair". Carved, gilded and polychrome wooden sculpture. 128 x 58 x 58 cm. The monumental piece presented here depicts the first of the popes seated and imparting the blessing to the faithful, an iconography that corresponds to the name of Saint Peter on a chair. Saint Peter is shown seated on a kind of chair richly decorated with stylised, gilded plant motifs, while the armrests culminate at the front in a kind of flat leaf, also meticulously carved. Additionally, the top of the back of the piece is crowned by a rich group of recurved leaves, also gilded. The first of the popes is shown wearing a pontifical vestment with a gilded alb and a wide rain cloak, also gilded and fastened at chest level by a large brooch in the form of a poly-lobed medallion. These garments are furrowed with stiff, low-profile folds, which do not prevent them from giving the piece considerable movement, as well as small chiaroscuro effects that give it greater plasticity. In addition to these garments, there is a hood hanging from the back. It is unpolychromed and a large tassel hangs from it. The head is adorned with the pontifical tiara, which is a triple crown symbolizing the pope's power as "supreme shepherd", "supreme master" and "high priest", topped by a cross. With his hands, protected by black gloves, he performs two very different actions, given that while the right hand is raised to impart the blessing, with the left he holds his two characteristic keys, now lost. The rich golden polychromy that covers the entire piece, with the exception of the face, is complemented in the different garments by a type of decoration based on incisions such as stippling that increases the sensation of luxury of these clothes. The saint has an elongated head, with a sharp profile and small facial features. Thus, the eyes are almond-shaped, with raised eyelids, curved eyebrows, a sharp and narrow nose with pierced nostrils, a tiny mouth with thin lips - he keeps his mouth half-open, as if he were about to begin speaking to the faithful - very small ears, also with a pierced ear canal, and a small beard made up of small curved locks. The hair does take on more volume, but it is largely concealed by the crown that is wrapped around his head. Contrary to the usual depiction of an old man with a white beard, the anonymous sculptor has chosen to show the saint as a mature man with smooth skin and beautiful features. From the delicacy of the face, the facial features and the morphological features of the rest of the piece, it seems that this precious Saint Peter can be assigned to an anonymous Portuguese master of the mid-18th century, probably with a workshop in the areas of Coimbra or Porto. We would like to thank Javier Baladrón, PhD in Art History, for the identification and cataloguing of this work.