St Paul in polychrome wood, Workshop of Daniel Mauch, Ulm circa 1500-1510

Beautiful Gothic sculpture carved from a lime tree half-trunk depicting the apostle Saint Paul leaning on a sword. 
He is dressed in his long pilgrim's cloak, which covers him from head to toe. 
The intricately draped garment alternates between gentle undulations and sharp, angular protrusions, before falling in broken folds over the saint's feet. 
His pose seems languid, with a slightly tilted head offering us a narrow face with finely-set eyes and a slightly ajar mouth beneath which hangs a long, streaked beard. 
His long and bony fingers clasp the pommel of a sharp-bladed sword. 
 
Beautiful original polychromy with a pale complexion applied in two layers, a vermilion-based undercoat covered by a lead white-based layer. 
The leaf-gilded mantle on the outside on a red plate, which has been left natural on the inside. 
 
Reverse hollowed out with a gouge; old traces of attachment to an altarpiece. 
 
Small cavity filled by a piece of wood on the head (trace of fixing in the vice of the sculptor's workbench). 
 
Very good condition, with small cracks ; the polychromy is missing and slightly restored. 
 
Workshop of sculptor Daniel Mauch (Ulm 1477- Liège 1540)*, Swabian Region, Ulm circa 1500-1510. 
 
Dimensions : 
 
Height : 84 cm ; Width : 30 cm. 
 
The physical characteristics of our Saint Paul (narrow, bony face, strong nose, almond-shaped eyes, half-open mouth, long bony fingers, striated beard, etc.) are similar to the features of the two hermits featured on the high relief in the Musée du Louvre (N° Inv RF2805) representing "two popes, a cardinal, a canon and seven monks". 
The folds of the mantle are similar to those of the Saint Anne in the Musée Grobet-Labadié in Marseille (N°Inv GL 582) and the Sainte Barbe in the Musée d'Amiens (N°Inv 3057). 
 
Our view : 
 
A masterpiece of Swabian sculpture, our Saint Paul comes from the left part of a large altarpiece by sculptor Daniel Mauch. 
Although the majority of these large altarpieces have been dismantled and sold off, a few examples can still be admired in churches in southern Germany, providing an insight into the origins of this type of hollow-backed sculpture. 
In keeping with Northern European Gothic canons, our sculptor chose to focus on an intricately folded cloak, revealing only the apostle's face. 
If the sword is indeed the instrument of Paul of Tarsus' torture, it is also the symbol of the divine word. 
Saint Paul is depicted here as an active knight of the faith, preaching and converting his listeners, rather than as a simple martyr. 
As he himself says in his letter to the Ephesians (6:17): "Receive at last the sword of the Spirit, that is, the Word of God”. 
The Bible repeatedly alludes to this attribute of the saint: "Like a sword, the Word of God can penetrate very deeply into the heart of he who is touched by its message". 
 
*Daniel Mauch (Ulm 1477-Liège 1540) was a sculptor from Swabia, in the western part of present-day Bavaria. He seems to have left his home town of Ulm, where he was a renowned artist, because of the town's switch to Protestantism, which forced citizens wishing to remain in the Catholic fold into exile. 
His works, most of which were commissioned by Catholic institutions, are now housed in the world's leading museums and private collections.