Page 278 - The mystery of faith

Figs. 1a, b, c of hard-edged, angular folds are manifestly Baroque in
feeling. There are also some superficial references to
Gregorio Fernández’ work. Fernández was as equally
renowned for his commissioned work in this area as he
was for his joint works with the sculptor Pedro Jiménez
(from Viana, Navarre).3

The strong, almost caricatural, tendencies of the
Romanist style in this sculpture connects it to the work
of Juan Bazcardo. Born in Caparroso, Bazcardo settled
in Cabredo in the south-west of Navarre and worked in
the border towns of the País Vasco and along the
Navarran coast and in La Rioja. His works retain
significant elements derived during his five-year
apprenticeship with González de San Pedro. Some of
the human types in this relief here appear to stem from
models used by Bazcardo, even though there are clear
differences. For this reason the present relief should be
attributed to a sculptor in his circle rather than to the
master himself. Diego Jiménez II, a disciple of Bazcardo,
had a less painstakingly meticulous approach to detail
in some of his works, with a tendency to use less finely
modelled heads than his master and blunter and harder
folds in the drapery. This is apparent in some of their
jointly executed pieces, such as the altarpieces of La
Población de la Barca (Figs. 1a, b, c) and of Dallo, both
in Álava.4 Indeed, the present relief shows a more
cursory approach to the styling of the drapery folds
than is usual in the known pieces by Diego Jiménez II,
and this may be either the result of the artist having to
work on a small scale; or to the possibility that this is a
late work.

The polychromy presents a varied range of flat colours,
without gilded embellishments, except for some of the
borders of the mantles. This sober style of painting
indicates that the polychromy may have been executed
during the second half of the eighteenth century, thus
demonstrating a more Neoclassical aesthetic.

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