Attributed to José de Mora; 17th century

Attributed to JOSÉ DE MORA (Baza, 1642 – Granada, 1724)
“The Penitent Magdalene.”
Carved and polychrome wood.
Work on display in: From the Middle Ages to the Baroque: Spanish and European Sculpture. Ansorena. Madrid.
Shows signs of restoration.
Measurements: 152 x 80 x 79 cm.
With intense expressive power and a deeply devotional character, this magnificent depiction of the Penitent Magdalene is an interesting example of Baroque sculpture from Granada dating from the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The saint stands upright, lost in deep meditation and holding a small cross, a symbol of her conversion and spiritual contemplation. Her face, with a pensive and tormented expression, conveys intense inner emotion, while the elegance of her features and the delicacy of her modeling reflect the artistic style of José de Mora, one of the most distinctive figures in Spanish Baroque sculpture.

The formal and technical characteristics of this sculpture allow it to be linked to the work of the Granada-born sculptor José de Mora, a disciple of Alonso Cano and one of the most prominent figures of the Granada Baroque school, whose career spanned Madrid and Granada during the final decades of the 17th century and the early years of the 18th.Magdalene’s pensive and tormented expression, the result of her meditation before the cross, finds clear parallels in other sacred figures by the artist, such as Saint Bruno at La Cartuja and Saint Pantaleon at the Church of Santa Ana, both in Granada, as well as in the figures of saints in the sacristy of Córdoba Cathedral, created around 1700. Also noteworthy are the long, slender nose, the delicately contoured lips—with the characteristic narrow, heart-shaped upper lip— and the face’s marked expressiveness—features also present in some of his depictions of Our Lady of Sorrows, such as the one preserved in the Church of La Victoria in Osuna.

José de Mora’s artistic personality was shaped under the influence of Alonso Cano and Pedro de Mena, giving rise to a style all his own, marked by intense spirituality and deep emotional resonance. His distinctive treatment of faces—with elongated proportions, gaunt features, prominent cheekbones, and a melancholic expression—is one of the most recognizable hallmarks of his work. These qualities, which became more pronounced during his mature period, made Mora one of the leading innovators of Andalusian Baroque religious art.