Circle of Alessandro Algardi, XVIIth century

Circle of ALESSANDRO ALGARDI (Bologna, 1595 - Rome, 1654).
Gilded bronze.
It has a later base.
Provenance: Important Spanish private collection.
Measurements: 28 x 14 x 9 cm (sculpture).
Raised on a base of later period a figure in bronze of round bulk representing a saint is arranged. The lack of iconographic attributes does not allow the identification of the protagonist, who due to his features is likely to represent St. Peter or St. Gregory, as both are usually conceived as characters of mature age. The canon is stylized, the drapery work extremely naturalistic, with emphasis on the qualities of the brocade, and the face expresses a restrained boldness. The body is monumental and the movement is elegant, slow, in the classic baroque style. The saint's posture indicates that he was holding another element in his hands that is now lost. It was probably a monstrance, with the figure of the saint acting as its base.
The aesthetic characteristics bring us closer to the work of Alessando Algardi (Bologna, 1595 - Rome, 1654), who began his training with Ludovico Carraci, although his knowledge of sculpture was due to the teachings of Giulio Cesare Conventi. After a first artistic education in his hometown, Algardi, he moved to Mantua, and later to Rome, under the patronage of Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi. In Rome he belonged to the cultural group of the pupils of the Carraci, his popularity was remarkable, although always overshadowed by the work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini as a sculptor.