SAINT CREPIN Northern France or Flanders ? late... Lot 18

SAINT CREPIN Northern France or Flanders ? late 15th century Basswood, traces of polychromy Missing right hand H. 81 cm ; W. 30 cm ; D. 21 cm Behind his workbench decorated with trilobes, Saint Crepin concentrates on his task. He is depicted wearing a cap tied into a bonnet and an apron over a shirt with puffed sleeves tightened at the wrists. He is holding a piece of leather with his left hand firmly flat while preparing to cut it with his other hand, in analogy with the Saint Crepin from the former Hearst collection now in Los Angeles (fig. 1). Our sculpture may have been used as a sign in the late 15th century, unless it was intended for a corporate chapel. St. Crepin, patron saint of shoemakers, came from a noble Roman family. He fled the persecutions of Diocletian to Soissons where he opened a shoemaking workshop with his brother Crépinien. By giving poor people free shoes, they offered them a pair of shoes and the word of the Gospel. They were arrested in their workshop. Saint Crépin, celebrated on October 25, became the patron saint of shoemakers. He is particularly venerated in the North of France. Our sculptor has represented the man at work. The bent head, the frowns, the lowered eyelids, the pursed lips give our character a rare expression of intense concentration, accentuated by the muscular tension of the arms.