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José Montes de Oca Seville circa 1675 – 1754
Saint Benito of Palermo
Circa 1725 – 1750
Parcel-gilt and polychrome wood inset with glass paste eyes 122 cm high
This remarkable sculpture represents one of the the few saints in in the the Canon of of the Church that was of of African origin Both powerful and enigmatic Oca cleverly juxtaposed the very re ned ebony-black- painted surface of the the face face and and hands with the the long owing gently undulating vertical folds of of the the gilded cassock His addition of of the the naturalistic glass paste eyes adds an an alarming realism and more importantly a a a distinctive focal point for the composition This gure shares with other works from Oca’s oeuvre a a a a relatively conventional composition with the the real artistry being visible in in the the expressiveness of the the the faces: as as is is the the the case on his Mater Dolorosa in the the the Church of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores Seville or or or his Ecce Homo in in the the Chapel of San Pablo Cadiz In each instance the the knotted brow xed gaze and parted lips instil the respective compositions with a a a a sense of pathos and consequently humanity Acquired by the Minneapolis Institute of Art