Castilian school; 17th century.

Castilian school; XVII century.
"Saint Joseph".
Carved wood, gilded and polychrome.
Presents restorations, faults and losses.
Measurements: 91 x 35 x 24 cm.
On a base of barely perceptible, the image of St. Joseph is placed, bearded, and erect. Both hands are missing, but the disposition invites us to think that he probably held the usual staff in his hands. Stylistically the piece stands out for the smoothness of the forms despite the marked folds.
Spanish Baroque sculpture is one of the most authentic and personal examples of our art, because its conception and form of expression arose from the people and the deepest feelings that nestled in it. With the economy of the State broken, the nobility in decline and the high clergy burdened with heavy taxes, it was the monasteries, the parishes and the confraternities of clerics and laymen who promoted its development, the works sometimes being financed by popular subscription. Sculpture was thus compelled to embody the prevailing ideals in these environments, which were none other than religious ones, at a time when the counter-reformist doctrine demanded from art a realistic language so that the faithful would understand and identify with what was represented, and an expression endowed with an intense emotional content to increase the fervor and devotion of the people. The religious subject is, therefore, the preferred theme of Spanish sculpture of this period, which in the first decades of the century began with a priority interest in capturing the natural, to progressively intensify throughout the century the expression of expressive values, which is achieved through the movement and variety of gestures, the use of light resources and the representation of moods and feelings.