Saint Jerome in Penitence

Even though clay was not considered as prestigious a material for sculpture as stone, metal, or wood, some polychrome clay works were held in high regard among Andalusian artists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Twins Jerónimo Francisco and Miguel Jerónimo García were accomplished sculptors, supposedly one specializing in carving and the other in painting. This work shows Saint Jerome next to a cavernous structure with several of his known attributes, such as the lion and an open book. Small clay sculptures like this were set in a glass and wood display case, known as escaparates.