Sculpture, Martirio di S.Giovanni - 30 cm - Earthenware
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Description from the seller
Head of Saint John the Baptist
Polychrome clay sculpture, Italy, 20th century (probably), Italian school
Intense and moving sculpture depicting the head of Saint John the Baptist, likely created during the nineteenth century and linked to the Italian school, in which the artist concentrates all expressive force on the saint's face, transforming it into a powerful vehicle for spiritual and theological reflection.
The gaze constitutes the emotional and conceptual core of the work. The eyes, turned upward, appear to be traversed by a complex ambivalence: one reads there both the human fear in the face of imminent death and a deep inner sorrow, but also an ecstatic tension, almost a mystical abandonment. It is a gaze that seems to question the space above, suspended between the terror of execution and the awareness of a salvific destiny.
The intentional ambiguity of the gaze opens up multiple readings: Is St. John perhaps looking at his own killer, the one who decrees his earthly end, or the God to whom he is reuniting through martyrdom? This interpretive oscillation is not resolved, but deliberately left open. The questions become an integral part of the meaning of the work, as if the artist had wanted to involve the viewer in a meditation on the duality of faith: fear and hope, flesh and spirit, suffering and redemption.
The modeling of the face, marked by a slightly parting mouth and soft but intensely expressive features, accentuates the dramatic dimension. The rendering of the hair and beard, treated with a fluid and vibrant motion, helps create a sense of vitality that contrasts with the condition of death, further reinforcing the theme of the passage between the earthly world and the divine.
Taken as a whole, the sculpture emerges as a work of strong spiritual introspection, in which the artist seems to wish to give visible form to the tension of the Holy Spirit and to the complexity of the experience of Christian faith. A work of great emotional intensity and quality of execution, conceived not only to be observed but to be contemplated.
Head of Saint John the Baptist
Polychrome clay sculpture, Italy, 20th century (probably), Italian school
Intense and moving sculpture depicting the head of Saint John the Baptist, likely created during the nineteenth century and linked to the Italian school, in which the artist concentrates all expressive force on the saint's face, transforming it into a powerful vehicle for spiritual and theological reflection.
The gaze constitutes the emotional and conceptual core of the work. The eyes, turned upward, appear to be traversed by a complex ambivalence: one reads there both the human fear in the face of imminent death and a deep inner sorrow, but also an ecstatic tension, almost a mystical abandonment. It is a gaze that seems to question the space above, suspended between the terror of execution and the awareness of a salvific destiny.
The intentional ambiguity of the gaze opens up multiple readings: Is St. John perhaps looking at his own killer, the one who decrees his earthly end, or the God to whom he is reuniting through martyrdom? This interpretive oscillation is not resolved, but deliberately left open. The questions become an integral part of the meaning of the work, as if the artist had wanted to involve the viewer in a meditation on the duality of faith: fear and hope, flesh and spirit, suffering and redemption.
The modeling of the face, marked by a slightly parting mouth and soft but intensely expressive features, accentuates the dramatic dimension. The rendering of the hair and beard, treated with a fluid and vibrant motion, helps create a sense of vitality that contrasts with the condition of death, further reinforcing the theme of the passage between the earthly world and the divine.
Taken as a whole, the sculpture emerges as a work of strong spiritual introspection, in which the artist seems to wish to give visible form to the tension of the Holy Spirit and to the complexity of the experience of Christian faith. A work of great emotional intensity and quality of execution, conceived not only to be observed but to be contemplated.
Details
Era
1900-2000
Style subtype
Baroque
Country of Origin
Italy
Style
Antique
Material
Earthenware
Title of artwork
Martirio di S.Giovanni
Signature
Not signed
Condition
Excellent condition
Height
30 cm
Width
17 cm
Depth
25 cm
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