ATRIBUIDO A PEDRO DE MENA (Granada, 1628 - Málaga, 1688)

Saint Anthony of Padua Carved and polychrome wood 76 x 26 x 32,5 cm (with pedestal); 60 x 16 x 25 cm (without pedestal) The iconography that concerns us in this cataloguing is Saint Anthony of Padua. It is a round sculpture in carved and polychrome wood. The Portuguese saint appears dressed in a brown Franciscan habit with a knotted rope around his waist. This one presents five knots making reference to the five wounds, in other occasions we can find three knots making reference to the vows of chastity, obedience and poverty. On his shoulders he wears the characteristic Franciscan cloak fastened at the neck with a hood in the shape of a beak. All his vestments present a sober and austere polychrome. He advances his right leg in a walking position showing his bare foot under his habit. He has clear flesh tones with blushing cheeks and hair cut in a crown. He spreads his arms away from his body at waist level in a position of holding or embracing something. Having lost her attributes she could be holding either the Baby Jesus or the Bible with the lily. He is leaning his head forward, directing his gaze towards what he must have been holding in his hands originally. Saint Anthony rests on a prismatic black base with moulded edges. _x000D_. _x000D_. The work of this image is reminiscent of that carried out by the hands of the important Granada sculptor Pedro de Mena. We find great similarity with the sober and simple folds of the habit of other carvings of his, such as the Saint Peter of Alcántara that is kept in the National Museum of Sculpture in Valladolid or the one in the National Museum of Art of Catalonia. His features are also comparable with those of the San Diego de Alcalá in the Diocesan Museum of Vitoria. _x000D_.