Circle of JUAN DE ANCHIETA (Azpeitia, Guipúzcoa, c. 1540 - Pamplona, 1588); second half of the 16th century.

Circle of JUAN DE ANCHIETA (Azpeitia, Guipúzcoa, c. 1540 - Pamplona, 1588); second half of the 16th century.
"Resurrected Christ".
Carved and polychrome wood.
Presents restorations.
Measurements: 50,5 x 75 x 10 cm.
This relief in carved and polychrome wood represents the resurrection of Christ. In the work there is a usual decoration in this type of liturgical scenes: the representation of the Resurrected Christ, who with his left hand points to the golden sky and with his right hand blesses the apostles. In spite of the distortion of the anatomies of all the characters, typical of the period, the artist has managed to capture a great dynamism in the piece that is granted by the harmonization of a clear compositional structure. Iconographically it is an enormously dramatic theme, but not narrative, designed to incite the faithful to be moved by the physical suffering of Christ and to admire his acceptance of the misfortunes he has to suffer in order to redeem humanity.
Due to its style, this work can be attributed to Juan de Ancheta, a baroque sculptor belonging to the Romanist School, a current of Spanish mannerism that shows a marked influence of the Italian authors who worked in Rome, especially Raphael and Michelangelo. The Romanist style is especially characterized by its monumentality and powerful anatomies, features that are clearly seen in this carving. In fact, Juan de Ancheta was probably trained in Italy, given that his style reveals influences from Italian masters, although there is no documentation to support this trip. By 1565 Ancheta was in Valladolid, but shortly thereafter he was in Briviesca, presumably collaborating with Gaspar Becerra on an altarpiece for the church of the convent of Santa Clara. In fact, Ancheta's style shows the influence of Becerra's mannerism, enriched with the classicism of contemporary Roman sculpture. It is believed that the sculptor returned to work with Becerra around 1558, on an altarpiece.