Pair of torchiere angels of the 17th century

Pair of angels torcheros 17th century.
Carved and gilded wood.
Exhibits wear consistent with age and use. With some lack of polychrome.
Measurements: 62 x 44 x 30 cm.

Couple of sculptures carved in wood and polychrome. They represent two child angels covered by a red tunic that only crosses part of their chest, holding in their hands supports of light in form of sinuous tornapunta. Both present a moving and naturalistic composition, typical of the Spanish baroque, although their contained faces advance us to the neoclassical period.

Spanish Baroque sculpture is one of the most authentic and personal examples of our art, because its conception and form of expression arose from the people and the deepest feelings that nestled in it. With the economy of the State broken, the nobility in decline and the high clergy burdened with heavy taxes, it was the monasteries, the parishes and the confraternities of clerics and laymen who promoted its development, the works sometimes being financed by popular subscription. Sculpture was thus compelled to embody the prevailing ideals in these environments, which were none other than religious ones, at a time when the counter-reformist doctrine demanded from art a realistic language so that the faithful would understand and identify with what was represented, and an expression endowed with an intense emotional content to increase the fervor and devotion of the people. The religious subject is, therefore, the preferred theme of Spanish sculpture of this period, which in the first decades of the century began with a priority interest in capturing the natural, to progressively intensify throughout the century the expression of expressive values, which is achieved through the movement and variety of gestures, the use of light resources and the representation of moods and feelings.