Sculpture, Ecce Agnus Dei - 60 cm - Wood

Ecce Agnus Dei - Saint John the Baptist with the Mystic Lamb. Portuguese sculpture from the nineteenth century, executed in carved and polychromed wood, representing Saint John the Baptist in full figure, in a devotional composition with marked popular expressiveness. The saint stands, in a slightly animated pose, with one leg bent and resting on a rocky element, a solution that gives greater dynamism and depth to the figure. It presents an elongated face, elevated gaze and contemplative expression, framed by wavy hair and a thick beard, carefully worked in successive reliefs. He wears a short tunic of dark brown tone, evocative of the traditional skin garment associated with the ascetic life of Saint John the Baptist in the desert. Over the tunic there is a cloak with wide folds, partially laid across the back and enveloping the lower part of the figure, with polychromy in grayish and bluish tones. In his left hand, the saint holds the Mystic Lamb, representation of Christ as the Agnus Dei, while in the other hand he holds a long processional cross or wooden staff. From this hangs a reddish pennant, with indented edges and inscription painted in gold: “ECCE AGNUS DEI” - a Latin expression meaning “Behold the Lamb of God”, alluding to the words spoken by Saint John the Baptist when recognizing Jesus Christ. The figure rests on an oval base, simulating ground or rocky formation, decorated with polychromy in greens, browns and blacks. The anatomical treatment, the expressive modeling of the face and the narrative character of the iconographic attributes frame the work in the tradition of nineteenth-century Portuguese religious imagery, probably intended for private devotion, an oratory, chapel or secondary altar. Portugal, nineteenth century. Carved and polychromed wood. Height: 60 cm.