Saint John of the Cross (San Juan de la Cruz)

1675

Francisco Antonio Gijón

Sculptor, Spanish, 1653 - after 1705

A pale-skinned man wearing voluminous robes under a monk’s hood is carved from wood and painted in this freestanding sculpture. In this photograph, the man’s body faces us as he tips his head to our left and back to look up in that direction. His lips are parted, and his square chin is shaded with a five o’clock shadow. His gray hair is curly over each ear, and the top of his head is bald. He holds his right hand, to our left, up with his thumb and first two fingers almost touching. He holds an open book in the flat of his other hand. A rocky formation on the pages, the edges of which curl up, could be a flame. The man’s hood is pushed back, and the ivory-white, knee-length cloak drapes heavily over his shoulders and parts over his spread arms. He wears a long robe painted earthy brown that reaches his sandaled feet. Both the cloak and robe are edged with gold along the hems and painted with gold, leafy designs. The sleeves of his robe hang wide around his wrists. He stands with his weight on his right foot and the other foot thrust a bit forward on a square, wood base. The sculpture is photographed against a white background.

Media Options

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On View

NGA, West Building, M-100, W

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    polychromed and gilded wood with sgraffitto decoration (estofado)

  • Credit Line

    Patrons' Permanent Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 167.96 x 93.35 x 74.3 cm (66 1/8 x 36 3/4 x 29 1/4 in.)

  • Accession

    2003.124.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Carmelite convent of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, Seville, from 1675 until 1810 or 1835.[1] private collection, Italy, from c. 1960; purchased 17 October 2003 through (Patricia Wengraf Ltd., London) by NGA.
[1] The convent that housed the sculpture, and the adjoining church, were sacked by French troops in February 1810 and it is likely that its works of art were dispersed, at least in part, at that time. The Discalced Carmelites returned to Los Remedios in 1814, but were definitively expelled in 1835 with the law of Exclaustración. If the sculpture had somehow remained in situ during the French sack, it would have been removed soon after 1835. See Maria Luisa Cano Navas, "Estudio historico-artistico del retablo mayor del convento de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios de Sevilla," in Homenaje al Prof. Dr. Hernandez Diaz, Seville, 1982: 326.

Associated Names

Bibliography

2003

  • "Statue of John of the Cross Acquired by NGA." Art Daily (Thursday, October 23, 2003).

  • Richard, Paul. "'Saint John,' Renouncing Tradition.' Washington Post (October 19, 2003): N12.

2004

  • "Contemporary art leads museum acquisitions in 2003." The Art Newspaper (April 2004).

  • Culligan, Kevin. "St. John of the Cross." National Catholic Reporter (April 2, 2004): 81, repro.

  • Luciano, Eleonora. "Gifts and Acquisitions." National Gallery of Art Bulletin 31 (Spring 2004): 7, repro.

2005

  • Peña, José Roda. "A 'St John of the Cross' attributed to Francisco Antonio Gijón: a recent acquisition at the National Gallery of Art, Washington." The Burlington Magazine (May 2005): 304-309, color repro.

2010

  • Dávila-Armero del Arenal, Alvaro, José Carlos Pérez Morales, and Carlos Maria López-Fe y Figueroa. Francisco Antonio Ruiz Gijón. Vol. 5, Grandes Maestros Andaluces, ed. Enrique F. Pareja López. Seville, 2010: 160-165, 179, 183, repro.

2015

  • "Art for the Nation: The Story of the Patrons' Permanent Fund." National Gallery of Art Bulletin, no. 53 (Fall 2015):22, repro.

2017

  • Dickerson III, C.D. "The Sculpture Collection: Shaping a Vision, Expanding a Legacy." _ National Gallery of Art Bulletin_ 56 (Spring 2017): 12-13, repro.

  • Roldán, Manuel Jesús. "Francisco Antonio Gijón en Washington." Pasión en Sevilla, Noticias, http://sevilla.abc.es/pasionensevilla/actualidad/noticias/francisco-antonio-gijon-washington-117667-1506896592.html, accessed 2 October 2017.

Wikidata ID

Q63861771

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