Granada school; 17th century

Circulo de MIGUEL FRANCISCO GARCÍA Y JERÓNIMO FRANCISCO GARCÍA; Granada; 17th century
"Ecce homo".
High relief in polychrome and gilded stucco.
It has a carved and gilded wooden frame, adapted to the piece at a later date.
Measurements: 24 x 22 x 8 cm; 44 x 43 x 9 cm (frame).
Active in Granada during the second half of the 17th century, the García brothers specialised in the production of clay pieces. The sculpture in question was made in polychrome stucco. It depicts the theme of the Ecce Homo, worked with a language of great attention to detail and great pathos. Special importance is given to the crown of thorns as the supreme symbol of Christ's suffering, accompanied by the facial expression full of suffering and the blood spilt on his complexion.

The brothers Miguel and Jerónimo Francisco García, canons of the Collegiate Church of El Salvador in Granada, were two sculptors active between the 16th and 17th centuries, who can be placed in the transition phase from naturalism to early Baroque. They worked in clay and wood, and are known for a group of Ecce Homos, usually small in size, meticulously modelled and highly expressive. Recently a group of terracotta reliefs representing different saints in penitence has been added to their catalogue of works: St. John the Baptist, St. Jerome, etc. The crucifix in the sacristy of Granada Cathedral, traditionally considered to be the work of Montañés, has been attributed to them. Both brothers were responsible for the creation of new iconographic models which helped to consolidate the incipient taste for naturalism in the Granada school. It is true that many people inspired him in his work, but we can safely say that his works served as a reference point for other great artists such as Alonso de Mena. Men of their time, and aware of the peculiarities of working with clay in the correct way. They were the founders of the Granada school of barrel-makers, and it was from their production that clay, this ignoble material, began to acquire new nuances. Its use had been relegated in earlier times to the making of household furnishings, but they were responsible for raising it to the highest levels. Following in their footsteps, Alonso Cano, Diego and José de Mora, José Risueño, among many others, would establish this tradition, whose peak would be reached in the 19th century by the baristas of the time: Manuel González, Miguel Marín, Antonio Jiménez Rada and, of course, Francisco Morales González, among many others.