A Warrior Saint

myminifactory

Although he is clad in Roman armor, this figure likely depicts a warrior saint or biblical hero from the Old Testament. It probably originated from a series meant to adorn church piers. The Quellin family was an influential artistic clan active throughout 17th-century southern Netherlands. Artus the Younger's work signified a significant shift towards more dramatic and expressive forms in Flanders' Baroque sculpture. His style diverged from that of his cousin Artus I, who had worked under François Duquesnoy's tutelage in Rome before returning to Flanders in the 1640s, introducing a less expressive version of the classical-influenced Baroque style developed by Duquesnoy. This differed from the more dramatic Baroque style championed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Duquesnoy's primary rival in Rome.