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Title

Saint Mark

Berruguete, Alonso [attributed to] [style of] (Paredes de Nava, ca. 1488 - Toledo, ca. 1561)

Generic classification
Sculpture
Object
Sculpture
Date
ca. 1560
Century
Third quarter of the 16th c.
Cultural context / style
Renaissance
Dimensions
39 × 14 × 10 in
Material
Wood
Technique
Gilded, Polychrome
Iconography / Theme
San Marcos
Provenance
Possible origin from Castile and Leon (Castilla y León, Possible origin from Castile and Leon, Spain)
Current location
Los Angeles County Museum (Los Ángeles, United States)
Inventory Number in Current Collection
AC1995.182.1
Object history

This sculpture of San Marcos is reminiscent of the pieces that Alonso Berruguete made for the Monastery of San Benito el Real in Valladolid(Arias, 2011; Arias 2019), which has led Los Angeles County Museum to attribute it to the same artist (Dooley, 2019). However, the whole of the main altarpiece of San Benito el Real was executed between 1526-1532, while this sculpture has been dated to 1560. If one attends to the formal characteristics of the sculpture, one can find parallels with some prophets of the main altarpiece, such as Isaiah. However, there is no documentary data to confirm the attribution, so perhaps it could be a follower of Berruguete (Parrado del Olmo, 1981).

Be that as it may, it seems evident that the sculpture came from the Castilian environment. It is unknown when it left its original location, but it was acquired in Europe by Enrique Larreta in 1921, who moved it to his residence in Belgrano (Buenos Aires). After the diplomat's death in 1961 his heirs donated part of the collection to the Municipality; however, there were pieces that were auctioned, such as this San Marcos that was offered for sale between November 29 and 30, 1988 at the Posadas auction house (Urgell, 1988; Nobilia, 2018), fetching $31,610 (Gutiérrez, 1988). It is not known who acquired the piece at the time, but in 1995 it was purchased by the Ahmanson Foundation, who gifted it to the Los Angeles County Museum that same year (Dooley, 2019).

Description

The carving represents St. Mark holding in his hands a heavy book containing his gospel. At his feet is a lion, his most characteristic attribute. It is carved in pine wood and shows a polychrome and gilded treatment similar to the one Berruguete used in his work. The evangelist rests his weight on the head of the lion, while the other rests on a block; generating torsion in the figure.

* The relative location of dealers, antique shops, art galleries, and collectors leads us to the places where they were based or had one of their main headquarters. However, this does not always indicate that every artwork that passed through their hands was physically located there. In the case of antique dealers and art merchants, their business often extended across multiple territories; sometimes they would purchase items at their origin and send them directly to clients. Similarly, some collectors owned multiple residences, sometimes in different countries, where they housed their collections. It is often difficult to determine exactly where a specific piece was kept during its time in their possession. Consequently, the main location of the dealer or collector is indicated. These factors should be considered when interpreting the map. Refer to the object's history in each case.
Bibliography
  • ARIAS MARTÍNEZ, Manuel (2019): "Master of the Retablo", en Alonso Berruguete: first sculptor of Renaissance in Spain, National Gallery of Art, Meadows Museum, SMU, CEEH and Yale University Press, pp. 86-115.
  • ARIAS, Manuel (2011): Alonso Berruguete. Prometeo de la escultura, Diputación de Palencia, Palencia, pp. 97-117.
  • DICKERSON III, Claude Douglas y MCDONALD, Mark (dirs.) (2019): Alonso Berruguete: First Sculptor of Renaissance Spain, National Gallery of Art, Meadows Museum, SMU, CEEH y Yale University Press, Washington.
  • DOOLEY, Ellen (2019): "Alonso Berruguete. Saint Mark", en Gifts of European Art from The Ahmanson Foundation, Los Ángeles County Museum, Los Ángeles, pp. 90-91.
  • GUTIÉRREZ ZALDÍVAR, Ignacio (1988): "Un remate de excepción. En España esperan a Larreta", La Prensa, Buenos Aires.
  • LEVKOFF, Mary (2002): "European Sculpture in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art: an Update", nº 155, Apollo, pp. 12-20.
  • NOBILIA, Patricia Mabel (2018): Enrique Larreta y su colección de Arte Español: Gusto y distinción de un coleccionista ilustrado en Buenos Aires, Tesis doctoral, Universidad de Buenos Aires, p. 557.
  • URGELL, Guiomar de (1988): "Prólogo", en IVº Remate de obras de arte y antigüedades, Posadas Remate S.A., Bullrich, Gaona y Guerrico, Buenos Aires.
Citation:

Isabel Escalera Fernández, "Saint Mark" in Nostra et Mundi. Cultural Heritage from Castile and Leon around the world, Fundación Castilla y León, 2025. https://inventario.nostraetmundi.com/en/work/414

DOI

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