Apostle (Saint Matthew?)
Not on view
This vigorously modeled statuette portrays an Apostle, possibly Saint Matthew. He holds an open book, one of his symbols, in his right hand, and his left is pressed against his chest, almost evocative of his call from Jesus. The terracotta bozzetto exemplifies a different way of fashioning clay, being in between a clay sketch and a smooth model. The handling of the clay is masterful. Particularly engaging is the spiky head, quickly modeled with few secure strokes and framed by sparse hair. The Evangelist’s powerful stride and arrangement of the heavy mantle, with its deep edgy folds, animate the figure and impart a sense of monumentality and command of space typical of Roman sculpture at the time.
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