Spanish school of the XVIII century

Spanish school of the XVIII century.
"Saint Augustine".
Polychrome wood carving.
It shows wear. With faults in the polychrome and wood. It does not preserve part of the crosier and fingers.
Measurements: 42 x 15 x 13 cm.

This sculpture shows a saint wearing a mitre, which allows us to identify him as Saint Augustine. With the left hand he holds an open book, while in the right hand he carries the crosier, today fragmented. The saint wears a rich chasuble with golden profiles, and is covered with a pluvial cloak. The movement of the folds of the clothes, which create undulating and very dynamic lines, giving the sculpture life and movement, as well as the serene features of the face, with an introspective and balanced expression, allow us to ascribe this sculpture to the Spanish school of the 18th century.
St. Augustine of Hippo (Tagaste, 254, Hippo Reggius, 430) was a doctor of the Catholic Church, known, among other facts and for his writings, for a legend: it is said that the saint was walking along the seashore, thinking about the Trinity; he met a beautiful child, playing. When the saint asks the little boy, he answers that he was taking water from the sea to put it into the hole, something to which Augustine replies that it is impossible. The child replies that it is more difficult for him to understand the Mystery of the Holy Trinity, revealing himself with this phrase as Jesus.