This sculptural piece shows as an attribute the book that the four evangelists and writers of the epistles bear in their representations, which leads one to suppose based on the hagiography and iconography of these personages that it could be the image of the Saint Paul the Apostle. "In medieval iconography, Saint Paul is known for his baldness and black, pointy beard. He bears the martyrdom sword in his right hand and is wearing a green tunic and a red mantle according to the revered portrait attributed to Saint Lucas in the Vatican. Since the Council of Trent, Saint Paul rejuvenates in his representations, showing abundant hair and a dark and bushy beard; the instrument of his martyrdom is now a montante, or a broadsword, a large sword that could enhance his stature”.[1]
Another aspect that leads one to interpret that it is said apostle is the expression of affliction on the face of the represented saint. Santiago Voragine says that, "sins caused his soul anguish and pains stronger than those that a woman feels during the trance of her labor, and that is why he said, 'My children! He suffered as much for you as if he were giving birth!’”.[2]
Regarding the representation of the book that some apostles such as Saint Paul carried, Guillermo Durandi says, “the apostles [...] can be represented with books, which logically means perfect knowledge. Not representing all the apostles in the same manner is based on some of them reproducing the received doctrine in their books, and therefore, they are adequately represented with books in their hands, such as doctors (this occurs with Paul, the evangelists, Peter, James and Judas), but others left nothing written or at least nothing whose authenticity the Church has recognized; therefore, they are not represented with books, but with rings as a symbol of their preaching”.[3]
With his left arm at the height of his hip, the apostle holds an open book with his hand in whose pages there is no inscription whatsoever. His right arm is raised to the height of his chest, while the position of his hand and the open fist indicate that he was holding the instrument of his martyrdom. The figure is wearing a green tunic, to which a belt is tied at the height of the waist. This garment covers his ankles. Francisco Pacheco says that, “regarding the footwear of Christ and the Apostles, we note that their strong ers have both opinions, as the learned know, although that of wearing sandals seems to be more favored, and thus the painters could use one or the other as sandals do not contradict barefootedness”.[4] On the contrary, the apostle represented here only reveals the tip, not of his bare feet or feet with sandals, but that of his black colored shoes, which is specified within the traditional representation of the footwear of the apostles.
On the tunic there are estofados that represent clusters of grapes, branches and vine leaves in a black over gold contour, where it has sparse marks of punched tips on grapes and leaves. Flower estofados with four, six and eight petals can be seen on the red mantle, as well as large leaves; the vegetal designs being outlined with marks of punched tips on gold.
The valance of the mantle also shows estofados of four flower petals with straight and curved lines outlined with tips on gold. Among the punch marks appearing on the red mantle are horizontal marks or lines that are not short, but prolonged in parallel, as well as being worked on the reverse side of the mantle. In her study the New Spanish religious image maker and his work, Consuelo Maquívar shows, among the pieces that she examines, diverse punch marks used between the 16th and 18th centuries in which the use of very short diagonal stripes appears.[5]
In his Iconography applied to colonial sculpting of Guatemala, Miguel Alvarez Arevalo presents, in the designs of the 18th century, flowers and other vegetal forms surrounded by extended "stripes" or horizontal lines that are similar to those appearing on the mantle of the apostle from our piece.[6] These lines or stripes also appear in gold on the figure's shoes. The burnishing technique can be seen in the incarnate face and hand, the color pink being predominant in representing the skin, accentuating stronger shades on the cheeks and eyelids. He has glass eyes, and the use of false, unpainted eyelashes is not distinguished. The eyebrows appear to be outlined in a shade of brown. The use of a solid primary block is seen in the carving of the sculptural piece and the stand that holds it.
The head of the figure represented is tilted to the right looking toward the spectator. He has an adult head with abundant hair and a wavy, long beard that leaves his face and ears uncovered. The hair comes from a swirl in the occipital part, which causes it to fall toward the front part, ending on the left side of the forehead in a curl that looks like a scroll. The eyes, a large and pointy nose, prominent cheekbones, thin lips and a fine chin denote a certain Spanish influence. The body is proportional: the hip and the leg of the figure are modeled under the tunic. Only the ears and the right hand lack adequate anatomic accuracy as neither the phalanges nor the veins are modeled; these were characteristic elements of New Spanish sculpting in the 18th century.
From the rear and front view, the serpentine movement derived from the flexion of the bowed head is noted, as well as the movement of the material that accompanies said movement. His waist and right hip accent the contrast, and thus the sculpture conserves an echo of previous tastes.
[1]. Carmona Muela, 1985: 351.
[2]. Voragine, 1984: 364-365.
[3]. Durandi, 1950; Idem.
[4]. Pacheco, 2001: 677-678.
[5]. Maquívar, 1995: 83.
[6] Alvarez Arevalo, 1990: 64-65.
Sources:
Alvarez Arevalo, Miguel, Iconografía aplicada a la escultura colonial deGuatemala (Iconography applied to the colonial sculpting of Guatemala), Guatemala, Fondo Editorial La Luz, 1990.
Carmona Muela, Juan, Iconografía de los santos (Iconography of the saints), Madrid, 1985.
Durandi, Guillermo, Rationale Divinorum Officiorum, 1950.
Maquivar, Maria del Consuelo, El imaginero novohispano y su obra (The Spanish religious image maker and his work), Mexico, INAH, 1995.
Pacheco, Francisco, El arte de la pintura (The art of painting), Madrid, Catedra, 2001.
Voragine, Santiago de la, La leyenda dorada, (The Golden Legend) vol.
