École mancelle du dernier tiers du XVIe siècle,... Lot n° 7

Probably Saint Barbara Terracotta statue Slightly pinkish beige clay, composition in two elements joined at the waist, two vent holes on the reverse, fluted terrace, minimal traces of polychromy and presence of glaze flows. H. 95 cm Minor accidents and cracks, attribute held in the left hand missing. Provenance : - Chapel of Château de la Rochère (Mulsanne, 72), Piasa sale June 6, 2014, lot 90; Paris, private collection Related works : - Early 17th century Manche school, St. Barbara, H. 110 cm, terracotta, MH object classification dated 16/07/1908, Doucelles church (72); - Attributed to the Matthieu Dionise workshop, Sainte Barbe, terracotta, Saint Pierre de Tuffé church (72); - Attributed to the Matthieu Dionise workshop, Sainte Barbe, terracotta, église Saint-Georges de Ballon (72); - Attributed to the Matthieu Dionise workshop, Sainte Catherine, polychrome terracotta, église sainte Anne de Spay (72) ; - Attributed to the Matthieu Dionise workshop, Mise au tombeau, polychrome terracotta, 81 x 88 x 38 cm, Noyen-sur-Sarthe church. Related literature: see lot description above Like the Virgin and Child, whose general composition and aesthetic it shares, this terracotta saint can be attributed to the workshop of the Mance sculptor Matthieu Dionise. It also shares a number of characteristics with a group of terracotta saints attributed to the artist: a well-pitched contrapposto position combined with a calm, poised attitude, emphasized by the supple movement of the cloak brought forward like an apron and tucked under the book. She also has the same face, with a rounded, unobstructed forehead, hemmed eyes, a fine mouth and small chin, and a keen sense of detail in her clothing, with a refined hairstyle combining a turban with a twisted cord with a central knot and wavy locks around the face, puffed sleeves, and small feet shod with brodequins. Although the attribute held in her right hand is now missing (most likely a wooden martyr's palm), she could be the most popular saint of the Le Mans diocese, St. Barbara. Similar representations from the second half of the 16th century can be seen in the churches of Doucelles and Avezé (72). Our work, so elegant and refined, is to be compared with a small corpus of female figures attributed to Matthieu Dionise's workshop, including St. Catherine from Spay (to which it is very close), St. Barbara from Tuffé and Ballon, and St. Madeleine from the Entombment at Noyen-sur-Sarthe. Along with the Virgin and Child and two other male figures, she was part of the decoration of the chapel at Château de la Rochère, whose major work is the terracotta relief of the Adoration of the Magi commissioned by Jean II de Vignolles, Seigneur de la Rochère, and executed between 1572 and 1580 (preserved in the Musée de Tessé in Le Mans, n°inv.83-2).