Infant Saint John, by Luis S. Carmona (1708 - 1767), c. 1740-55

Beautiful sculpture of the Infant Saint John the Baptist, made of polychrome wood and glass eyes, with its original base, conserved in excellent condition.

It is an unpublished work by the Spanish Court sculptor Luis Salvador Carmona (Nava del Rey, Valladolid, 1708 - Madrid, 1767), one of the most important sculptors of the 18th century in Spain. Carmona spent much of his life working in Madrid, producing religious works for the Court and for numerous churches and convents. His works can be found in the Royal Palace, the Prado Museum and the National Sculpture Museum in Valladolid. The Monastery of Santa Paula in Seville conserves a sculpture of the infant St John by the same artist, which is surprisingly similar to ours, with the same characteristic treatment of the hair and very fine details in the delicate polychromy of the face, which transmits that sweetness and beauty to the whole.

A complete study by Prof. Alvaro Pascual Chenel is available on request.


The image of this Saint, whose devotion became tremendously popular during the Spanish Baroque period, was usually depicted barefoot, as a symbol of humility and simplicity, holding a cross, with a sweet, innocent and serene appearance, sometimes, as here, next to a stream, symbol of the River Jordan, in which as an adult Saint John will baptise his cousin Jesus. We are also fortunate enough to have an old photograph in the palace from which it comes, where we can see that the sculpture was once dressed in a sheepskin, now lost, which is another of the iconographic elements of Saint John.

This is a magnificent example of Counter-Reformation Baroque realism, where the sculptor's virtuosity seeks to move the viewer, to provoke intense emotion in this case through the tenderness and innocence of the figure.

Provenance: Palace of Marquis of Huarte, since XIXth century; private coll. (Valencia), 2024.

This sculpture has an export licence issued by the Spanish Ministry of Culture.