Pedro de Mena School

School of PEDRO DE MENA (Granada, 1628 - Malaga, 1688); Granada, XVII century.
"St. Anthony of Padua with Child.
Carved and polychrome wood. With eyes of vitreous paste.
Measurements: 47 x 21 x 20 cm.
The figure of the Franciscan saint is represented standing, holding the Child Jesus on one of his arms, in a vertical and contained composition that prioritizes the emotional closeness in front of the dynamism. The treatment of the habit, of wide folds and heavy fall, responds to the characteristic modes of Andalusian baroque sculpture, where the materiality reinforces the physical presence of the image. In contrast to this sobriety, the faces introduce a more intimate register: the expression of Saint Anthony, gently leaning towards the Child, establishes a direct affective link, while the infant figure provides a counterpoint of tenderness and naturalism, typical of baroque.
Stylistically, the work follows the stylistic precepts of Pedro de Mena, son of the sculptor Alonso de Mena, whose workshop was the most important in Granada until the arrival of Alonso Cano. Trained with his father, after his father's death he remained in charge of the workshop and worked together with Bernardo de Mora. During this period he made four sculptures for the church of San Matías in Granada, the Sagrada Familia de los Capuchinos in the same city, and the San Antonio of the Municipal Museum of Málaga. Later he worked with Alonso Cano after he settled in Granada in 1652. He carved four large sculptures of saints that were commissioned to Cano for the convent of the Guardian Angel and also a Conception for the parish church of Alhendín in the fertile plain of Granada. Later, in 1658, he left for Malaga due to the commission to make the choir stalls of the cathedral, which had been designed in 1633 by Luis Ortiz de Vargas, who began the carving, leaving it unfinished. José Micael y Alfaro continued the work, but in the end it was Mena who did most of the work, carving the forty-three missing panels and the crowning of the choir stalls. In this work he shows his great technical skill and his ability to create a great variety of faces, types and compositions. In 1662 he traveled to the court at the request of Don Juan José de Austria. During this brief trip he also visited Toledo. For Don Juan José he carved a sculpture of the Virgin of Pilar with Santiago Apostle at the foot. In Madrid he also made a Crucifix for Prince Doria, which was sent to Genoa. In Toledo he carved the St. Francis preserved in the Cathedral Treasury, which is one of his most important works. Of small size, as was usual in Granada's art, he appears standing upright, with his head slightly raised and his eyes directed to the sky. He is appointed sculptor of the cathedral of Toledo. Almost at the end of his trip, he starts Magdalene Penitent (Prado) in Madrid, which ends, on his return, in Malaga. There he created an important workshop and produced numerous works.