Apollo Advent Calendar: Day 15

Apollo is counting down to Christmas by celebrating some of the greatest acquisitions, gifts and bequests of 2013. We’ll take a closer look each day at one of the outstanding objects, works of art or collections shortlisted for the Apollo Awards Acquisition of the Year.

The Meadows Museum, Dallas
Saint Paul the Hermit, c. 1715
Juan Alonso Villabrille y Ron (c. 1663–1732)
Polychromed terracotta
61×76.2×47cm approx.
Purchased with funds provided by Jo Ann Geurin Thetford in honour of Dr Luis Martin

This is a virtuoso example of baroque Spanish devotional sculpture, which sought to inspire Christian humility by paying minute attention to the suffering of the saints. Polychrome details such as the hermit’s taut, sunburnt skin and the startlingly convincing skull are closely observed from life, and the artist has even introduced additional props. The woven palm tunic is a unique attribute of Saint Paul the Hermit, who fled religious persecution in Thebes in the 3rd century to live a life of isolation in the desert. Its inclusion prompted researchers to rethink the identity of the figure, which was originally presented to the museum as Saint Jerome, whose iconography is otherwise similar.

Villabrille y Ron was an influential sculptor in the Spanish court at Madrid, but is little known today: few of the fragile terracotta pieces from the time survive, and those that do are often located in situ and seen by a limited audience. This is the first work by the artist to enter a US collection, where it has received significant scholarly attention.