This sculpture was identified in the collection of the Amparo Museum as Saint Ferdinand, probably because he sports a crown. However, this element does not correspond to the original size and was added at an undetermined time. Ferdinand III (1198–1252) was the king of Castile and Leon, and hero of the reconquest, for his arduous struggle against the Moors. He was canonized in 1671 by Clement X, although from the thirteenth century he was popularly regarded as a saint. His royal status is represented by the crown, his dress (sometimes wearing armor and an ermine cape), sword (which illustrates the struggle for control of the territories) and globe (which embodies the domain of the kingdoms of Castile and Leon). His holiness is reflected in the feature of the aura or radiance of the head; sometimes his gaze is directed upwards in an attitude of contemplation.[1] The personage depicted here does not correspond to these characteristics. The sculpture has lost its symbols making it difficult to identify.
The sculpture before us is smaller than life-size and may originally have been part of an altarpiece. The right hand is raised in a gesture of blessing, while the left, at waist level, seems to have held some element. The saint is barefoot and wears a green tunic girded with a belt buckle at the waist and double-sided blanket, red outside and white inside, which lends movement to the sculpture. It is a young male personage, with a short beard and mustache. The face has no further anatomical detail. The flesh accentuates cheeks with stronger tones. The youth's gaze is directed upwards and the face expresses little emotion; rather it seems to be in contemplation.
It could be Saint John, one of the apostles and an evangelist. According to Hector Schenone, it became customary from the sixteenth century onward to dress this saint in a green robe and red cloak, although the origins of this practice were unknown.[2] He usually appears young, in a multitude of scenes from the life of Jesus.[ 3] He accompanied Christ at the Wedding at Canaan, was present at the Transfiguration and in the Garden of Olives. Known as the "beloved disciple" he rested his head on the chest of the teacher at the Last Supper. At the foot of the cross, the only one present among the disciples, he received the Virgin as mother as Christ recommended. However, the position of the hands of the sculpture here concerned seem not relate to any of these episodes.
The sculpture keeps formal similarities with others from the National Viceroyalty Museum. Two have been identified as Saint John the Evangelist while another only as an unidentified apostle, although in this latter case there is also a relationship suggested with that evangelist. In the three images the personage is young, with medium-length hair, a mustache in all three cases, and a short beard in two. In all examples he is barefoot and wears a belted tunic and cloak. In one case the saint is clearly represented in his role as an evangelist, with the book in hand and the eagle, his symbol, at his feet, holding an inkwell in its mouth. For the other sculpture of St. John the Evangelist, it has been proposed that it originally formed part of a Golgotha, where the apostle was at the foot of the cross, facial features expressing deep sorrow. The unidentified apostle is perhaps the one that bears the most similarity to the sculpture of the Amparo Museum, for the size of the mustache and beard and the position of the hands, but also in this case it has lost the symbols it held. However, in the sculpture of the Nacional Viceroyalty Museum, it is the left hand that is raised and not in a gesture of blessing.
The specific time illustrated in the Amparo Museum sculpture could be related to the role played by St. John the Evangelist after the ascension of Christ, that is, as an apostle preaching the teachings of Jesus. It is not uncommon to find St. John the Evangelist giving blessing: it was a gesture Christ made during his life, repeated even today by the priests who are the successors of the Apostolic College.
The piece made of wood (possibly ayacahuite) is finely carved and estofada (gilded) on three sides. The back has been carefully hollowed out; you can clearly see the marks of the tools used to carve the wood. This side would usually be covered with boards to hide the hollow back from the viewer.[4] One has to emphasize the quality of carving in the hair, hands and feet. These revealed details are testimony to the good craftsmanship of the sculpture. It is also necessary to highlight the painstaking work of estofado that simulates the effect of a rich brocade in the vestments of the saint. The design of the estofado of the tunic and cloak is based on various plant decorations. The symmetry of the lines confirms the use of templates or a reference model, common in New Spain sculpture. It is also worth noticing the wealth of sgraffito and the use of punches in various ways to sketch on the polychrome. The forms of various thicknesses, dots, circles, and the like, allow one to appreciate the gold that is the background, and offers various textures as if brocade. You can also appreciate that different shades have been used for the bottom of the tunic and cloak; the latter in turn offers a double view: the estofado is different inside than on the exterior. It is also worth mentioning that the design of the estofado adapts to the folds of the clothing, that is, they bend according to the movement of the cloth, which again confirms the excellent work of the master of estofado.
[1]. Reau, 1958, III, I: 492-493; Schenone, 1992, I: 323-324; Garcia Collino, 2006: 24, 31.
[2]. Schenone, 1992, II: 528.
[3]. Reau, 1958, III, II: 708-720; Schenone, 1992, II: 527-530.
[4]. Maquivar, 1995: 83.
Sources:
Garcia Collino, Anna Dolores, Las representaciones de San Fernando de La Nueva España, Mexico, UNAM, 2006.
Maquivar, Maria del Consuelo, El imaginero novohispano y su obra, las esculturas de Tepotzotlán, Mexico, INAH, 1995.
Reau, Louis, Iconographie de l’art chrétien. Iconographie des saints, book III, vols. I and II, Paris, PUF, 1958.
Schenone, Hector H., Iconografia del arte colonial. Los santos, 2 vols., Buenos Aires, Fundacion Tarea, 1992.
