Carved and polychromed wooden head, presumed portrait... Lot 285

Carved and polychromed wooden head, presumed portrait of Saint Vincent de Paul. Face of an elderly man, with very realistic features and physiognomy, very bald, looking to the left and a contained smile; the expression lines are particularly well rendered here with the wrinkled forehead, the lion's wrinkles, the crow's feet and the fascial folds at the bottom of the screw. Circa 1660/1665 Height: 24.5 cm - Width: 19 cm - Depth: 19.5 cm Base (a few slits) The physiognomy of the figure refers to the portrait of Saint Vincent de Paul, a religious man born near Dax in 1581 in the house of a modest farmer and stockbreeder from the Landes, who died in 1660 in Paris. A pious man, he was a priest, chaplain general of the galleys, founder of several congregations, but also led a career close to power as confessor and organiser of charitable actions among the ladies of the nobility. He died at more than eighty years of age in the "odour of sanctity". His popularity owes him to having been portrayed in his time, notably by the painter Simon François, known as Little François (1606-1671). The famous painting is now kept at the Lazarist Mission in Paris and bears a later inscription, "Monsieur Vincent" having been canonized only in 1737. The sculptor of this polychrome wooden head was obviously inspired by the painting, executed shortly after the priest's death, rather than by one of the many prints engraved shortly afterwards (figs. a and b). The strong, thick nose, leaning forward, looking to the left, and the mischievous expression of the old man can be seen here; the hair escaping from the black cap, such as the moustache, goatee, and goatee, has also been faithfully reproduced. It seems that the sculptor planned to place a cloth cap on the top of the skull in the way he delineated the baldness.