Page 226 - The mystery of faith

Fig. 1 in Salamanca Cathedral, we can see how in all of these works the
Fig. 2 sculptor sought to capture the deep inner life of the subject without
succumbing to a sense of physical abandonment or exaggerated
gestures. Instead, in each work all spiritual energy is concentrated in
the face.

In the present works, Rueda has formed each bust with a twisting
rotation to the long necks that tilts the face dramatically upward.
Although both works adhere to the sculptor’s basic compositional
formula for the spiritual, as outlined above, in each work Rueda
managed to incorporate subtle differences that distinguish the calmer,
more mature character of Saint Francis Xavier from the more
spontaneous, youthful energy embodied in Saint Aloysius Gonzaga.

In both works, this overall sense of the mystical combined with the very
tangible treatment of the hair – which appears in both figures to have
been glued to the head as a single element, with only spiky locks issuing
over the forehead and temples – the broad brows, aquiline noses and
overall modelling of the soft facial contours into a wistful expression
clearly indicate the hand of Esteban de Rueda. These same features,
including the moustache and goatee beard in the Saint Francis Xavier
– features that were in fashion during the reign of Philip IV – are also
seen in the Saint Sebastian in Villalar de los Comuneros (Valladolid), in
the Saint Thyrsus in Benafarces (Valladolid), and the Saint Eulalia and
the Allegories of Virtue in Villardondiego (Zamora), in addition to the
aforementioned works in Toro, Alaejos and Salamanca.

Unfortunately, the essentially fragmentary nature of these busts does
not allow us to speculate too closely as to their original function. The
fact that only the head and neck were polychromed, but the upper
torso and shoulders were left ungessoed and unpainted indicates that,
as figures, these works were dressed in robes and were most likely
made to be carried in pasos, or Holy Week processions, mounted by a
specific religious community. Alternatively, if less likely, they could also
have formed part of reliquary images.

The fact that the busts stylistically appear to originate from Salamanca,
and the fact that Sebastian Ducete and Esteban de Rueda kept in with
the Jesuits, could mean that these works were commissioned for the
Jesuit college in Tormes. Rueda actually carved a magnificent Christ
Crucified, which now hangs on the front wall of the transept of La

226