Virgin and Saint John at Calvary – Burgundian School 15th century

This pair of sculptures in the round on oak was originally part of a Calvary group.
It retains its original polychromy.
The Virgin stands with her face slightly bent. She is dressed in a blue cloak which she holds at the side with her clasped hands, creating large swathes of drapery of heavy, round magnitude. A wide veil falls on the front of her forehead, and reveals a face with fine features and imbued with a gentle serenity.
Saint John is also represented in a standing position. He is wrapped in a red coat held by his two hands in a movement of undulations of cascading folds.
The attitude of Saint John is particularly moving: he emerges from the face, wearing soft and wavy locks, an expression of astonishment nuanced with humility.
These two figures inherit all the characteristics of the Burgundian style which spread following the great Burgundian image-makers of the 15th century (Claus Sluter, Jean de la Huerta, etc.).
We will mainly notice the touching and expressive plasticity of the faces, the studied elegance of the gesture, the applied work of the heavy and harmonious draperies.

Dimensions
Virgin: H. 50 cm x W. 15cm
St John: H. 52 cm x W. 20cm

Burgundy school
Oak wood
Original polychromy
Second half of the 15th century