Andalusian school of the 18th century

Andalusian school of the 18th century.
"Head of St. John the Baptist.
Carved and polychrome wood.
With wear.
Measurements: 31 x 20 x 21 cm.

The deep pathos and the exquisite technical quality of this head of St. John the Baptist allow us to link it with models of Torcuato Ruiz del Peral, one of the main continuators of the sculptural tradition of Granada after Alonso Cano. The artist not only kept this legacy alive, but also evolved it towards more dynamic and expressive forms. In this sense, the notable quality of the carving, the marked realism of the face, the emotional intensity and the meticulous attention to detail, both in the anatomy and in the polychromy, stand out.

The Granada school of this period followed the artistic models of the Baroque, a trend that was fully consolidated with the creation of the Academy of Noble Arts in 1777. Heir to the previous Renaissance tradition, the 17th century school included outstanding figures such as Pablo de Rojas, Juan Martínez Montañés, Alonso de Mena, Alonso Cano, Pedro de Mena, Bernardo de Mora, Pedro Roldán and Ruiz del Peral himself, among others. In general terms, this school combines the care for formal beauty with the naturalism characteristic of the period, although it is distinguished by a markedly intimate and recollected character, with delicate images that, although they share certain features with other Andalusian schools, do not usually reach the monumentality typical of the Sevillian school.