St John of the Cross

This statuette representing St. John of the Cross (1542-1591) wearing a Carmelite habit was made in Spain, in about 1730. The statuette is paired with the statuette of St Teresa of Avila (A. 84-1923). St Teresa of Avila was a Discalced Carmelite, whose mythical writings where hugely influential. St Teresa together with St John, a poet and mystic, founded the order of the Discalced Carmelite friars. She was canonized in 1622, while St John was canonized over a century later in 1726. Both became revered Spanish saints; they were friends and companions, and together active in the reform of the Carmelite Order in the 1560s. Both figures are likely to have been made in ca. 1730, in a slightly retardataire style, recalling the seventeenth century. The drapery is particularly finely carved.