Circle of Alonso Berruguete, second third of the 16th century.

Circle of ALONSO BERRUGUETE (Paredes de Nava, c.1490-Toledo, 1561), second third of the sixteenth century.
"Santiago Apostle in the Battle of Clavijo".
Half sculpture in carved and polychrome wood.
It shows wear and losses in the polychrome. It presents slight faults and cracks typical of the antiquity. The back shows structural reinforcements and old restorations.
Measurements: 100 x 85 x 18 cm.

The present sculpture represents Santiago Apostle as Santiago Matamoros, iconography linked to the legendary Battle of Clavijo, one of the most widespread themes in the Hispanic imagery since the Middle Ages. The saint appears mounted on horseback in a combative attitude, brandishing the sword while he attacks the enemies fallen under the horse's legs, in a composition of strong dynamism and marked theatricality.

The work, made of carved and polychrome wood, is part of the stylistic circle of Alonso de Berruguete, one of the fundamental sculptors of the Spanish Renaissance. Characteristic features of Berruguete's language can be appreciated, such as the intense movement of the figures, the expressiveness of the faces, the agitated folds of the drapery and the anatomical tension of the horse and the characters. These elements, together with the diagonal composition and the dramatic narrative, refer to the models developed in Castile during the second third of the 16th century.

The polychromy, with traces of stews and gilding, contributes to accentuate the devotional and narrative character of the ensemble, probably conceived to form part of an altarpiece or religious iconographic program, where this type of representation reinforced the triumphal symbolism of the apostle as protector of Christianity.