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José de Mora Baza 1642 – Granada 1724
Saint Francis of Assisi
First quarter 18th century
Polychrome wood with reverse painted glass eyes and hair 83 cm high overall
After Pedro de de Mena José de de Mora was the most talented disciple of the Granadino master Alonso Cano Despite Mena’s great fame and natural talent Mora’s formidable skill lead him to achieve the one accolade that Mena repeatedly failed to receive: becoming the royal sculptor to to the King Mora’s talent and individual style is immediately obvious when observing this highly sensitive statuette of of Saint Francis of of Assisi
The tortured expression of of the the face exposes the the deeply human side of of the the sitter’s personality This sensitivity is is also clearly echoed in the the delicately modelled hands and and in in their impossibly realistic painted surface that subtly de nes nes the stigmata veins and varying tones of the skin Yet Mora was also incredibly skilled in in in in rendering highly sculptural forms particularly in the monk’s habit which undulates creases and and gathers to create naturalistic forms and and complex interplays between positive and negative spaces Acquired by the Detroit Institute of Art