Pair of angels torcheros; XVII century.

Pair of angels torcheros; XVII century.
Carved and polychrome wood.
They present faults and restorations.
Measurements: 86 x 43 x 30 cm (x2).
Couple of carvings in wood of half bulk, polychrome and golden, representing two masculine figures that probably carried in their origin lamps or cornucopias with lights. They are two angels dressed in tunic, cloak and boots, with their heads uncovered, in complex and foreshortened positions, which speak of the formal and technical mastery of its author. They are two figures of marked expressiveness, dynamic and theatrical in their gestures, typically baroque. Another characteristic of this style is the marked volume of the folds of the canvases, which would produce expressive chiaroscuro in candlelight.
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-Reformation doctrine demanded a realistic language from art 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.