San Bruno

With the Portuguese artist Pereyra, Spanish art veers toward classicism. The famous San Bruno of the Carthusian house of Miraflores can be attributed safely to him on stylistic grounds. Pereyra is a representative of the second trend in 17th-century Spanish art, stemming from the reform of Philip II. The San Bruno is a realistic, almost naturalistic portrait. The sculptor has completely mastered his technique, and he works in a balanced, sober, and descriptive style. The emaciated head with its hollow eye-sockets illustrates the lessons learned from the Italian Quattrocento.