St. Francis Xavier

Wood carving of St. Francis Xavier, one of the first members of the Society of Jesus. Made in an idealized realistic style, this image features elements inherent to the sculptural tradition of Spain. The saint displays a missionary cross, symbol of Francis’ principal ministry, with both great serenity and determination.The dark habit is enhanced by plant-life ornamentation through the estofado technique, which helps highlight the smallest details of the sculpted cloth. The sobriety of the figure is enlivened by way of illusion of subtle movement in the clothing. This model is based on an 18th century antique carving of St. Ignatius statue owned by the client who commissioned St. Francis Xavier. In agreement with the client, for the statue of St. Francis we closely followed sculptural and decorative techniques of the antique, even using glass eyes.