St. Matthew the Evangelist (3) - Antique - Earthenware - 1800-1850

San Matteo Evangelista – terracotta sculpture, Italy, first half of the 19th century
Important Italian devotional sculpture depicting Saint Matthew the Evangelist, shown standing, with a long beard, the Gospel Book in the left hand and the right hand brought to the chest in a contemplative gesture.
The work features a modeling characterized by a pronounced late Baroque language, with elements transitioning towards Neoclassicism, particularly recognizable in the monumental construction of the figure, in the volumetric rendering of the drapery, and in the strong expressive character of the face. The terracotta work also preserves an evident plastical and artisanal character, typical of the Italian sculptural tradition of devotional scope.
The figure rests on an elaborated base also terracotta, decorated with ornamental volute motifs, vegetal elements and carved angular feet, of eighteenth-century and early nineteenth-century taste. Both the book and the base are removable, a feature that allows separating the figure from the related accessories and appreciating its structure.
In terms of stylistic characteristics, model typology and formal language, the work is probably datable to the first half of the nineteenth century, within the Italian devotional sculpture production.
Subject: Saint Matthew the Evangelist
Era: probably first half of the 19th century
Style: late Baroque with Neoclassical influences
Country of origin: Italy
Material: terracotta
Base: terracotta, removable
Book: removable
Destination: devotional sculpture