VILLABRILLE Y RON, Juan Alonso
(b. 1663, d. after 1728, Madrid)

Head of St. Paul

1707
Polychrome wood, 55 x 62 cm
Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid

Decorative pieces in the churches of Madrid, much in demand, were characterized by a reliance on the traditional forms of representation, demonstrated, for example, by the present Head of St. Paul. This is an explicit illustration of the cruelty of martyrdom.