Juan de Anchieta's workshop; second half of the 14th century.

Workshop of JUAN DE ANCHIETA (Azpeitia, Guipúzcoa, c. 1540 - Pamplona, 1588); second half of the 16th century.
"Saint Paul".
Carved wood, polychrome and gilded.
It presents damages.
Measurements: 52 x 20 x 10 cm.
Wooden carving representing Saint Paul, recognizable thanks to the sword, which is one of his main iconographic attributes. The piece shows a certain hieratism that is softened with the work of the folds that make up the mantle. St. Paul was a Hellenized Jew of the Diaspora, born in Tarsus. He was therefore Jewish by ethnicity, Greek by culture and Roman by nationality. He received the name Saul, which he changed to Paul after his conversion. Born at the beginning of the first century, he studied in Jerusalem with Rabbi Gamaliel, who was known for his hatred of Christians. One day, when around the year 35 he was on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus, he was dazzled by lightning and fell from his horse. Then he heard the voice of Jesus saying to him: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? As a result of this experience, the saint went abruptly from persecutor to zealot of Christianity.
Due to its style, this work can be attributed to the workshop of Juan de Anchieta, 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.