St. Leonard

This sculpture arrived in Portugal around 1514, being destined for the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. It is traditionally believed that this group of images was a gift from Pope Julius II to Dom Manuel I.
Demonstrating the prestige attained throughout Europe by the della Robbia workshop, this sculpture arrived in Portugal before 1514, forming part of a group of at least six sculptures originating from Florence, some of which are still conserved today.
Having been delivered to the Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Belém (Jerónimos), the sculptures were used for religious worship in the church, being ideally suited to the Hieronymite spirituality and the particular devotion of this religious Order, which necessarily included the figures of St. Jerome, as the patron of the Order, Our Lady of the Stars (or of Belém), as the patron saint, and St. Anthony and St. Leonard, as the protectors of women in child birth.