114 - Spanish school, late 18th century - first half of the 19th century.

Spanish school, late 18th century - first half of the 19th century. "Franciscan friar with cross". Carved and polychrome wood. Measurements: 65 x 30 x 20 cm. Devotional wood carving representing a Franciscan friar, with beard and girded habit, barefoot on a rocky base and supported by the cross to which he is attached. The figure, captured in a moment of movement and recollection, transmits spiritual intensity and drama through the inclination of the head and the fall of the folds of the habit. Due to its stylistic and technical features, the work is situated between the last years of the 18th century and the first decades of the 19th century, in a context in which religious imagery still maintains baroque echoes but with a more sober and naturalistic treatment. This type of sculptures, conceived for private or conventual oratories, are today highly appreciated pieces of sacred art both for their artistic quality and for their testimonial value in the history of spirituality and missionary expansion.