Spanish school of the 18th century

Spanish school of the 18th century.
"Saint Dominic".
Polychrome wood carving.
Presents lack of polychrome and faults in the hands. Repainting.
Measurements: 60 x 22 x 16 cm.

Saint Dominic is represented here in rounded form. The habit has been draped with verist will. It consists of tunic and long mantle. The head of the saint presents a monastic tonsure, and a lively and kind expression illuminates his countenance. In one hand he holds the open Scriptures. At his feet is a dog that alludes, according to legend, to one of the many omens that announced his birth. His mother, Juana de Aza, dreamed of a child with his forehead marked by a star, accompanied by a black and white dog carrying a lighted torch in his mouth.
Saint Dominic of Guzman, born in Castile in 1170, was the founder of the Order of Preachers, better known as Dominicans. During his childhood he received a careful moral and cultural formation, finally awakening his vocation to the ecclesiastical state. After studying humanities, theology and philosophy in Palencia, where he was also a professor, he was ordained a priest, and was finally named ambassador extraordinary by King Alfonso VIII of Castile. After obtaining in 1216 the authorization to found his order, he devoted his last years to its organization and to several missionary journeys to France and Italy. Legend, however, has added much to his biography. Numerous miracles were also attributed to the saint during his preaching, especially the resurrection of a young man who died from a fall from a horse and the rescue of pilgrims who were going to drown while trying to cross the Garonne to Santiago de Compostela.