Pedro or Saint Peter of Alcántara lived a life of remarkable austerity and poverty – according to Saint Teresa of Ávila, who knew him very well, he was used to only eat once every three days, sometimes even fasting for a whole week. ‘Fray Pedro’ travelled throughout Spain preaching the Gospel to the poor, and many regard his treatise on prayer and meditation as a masterpiece. His contemporaries considered his lifestyle to be a perfect example of penitence and piety. In 1622, he was beatified in Rome by Pope Gregory XV. Pope Clement IX made him a saint in 1669.

Possibly, Pedro de Mena was already working on a sculpture of San Pedro de Alcántara between 1653 and 1658 with his teacher Alonso Cano for the Santo Ángel Custodio convent in Granada. The popular saint continued to be a part of De Mena’s own repertoire, as a Franciscan model of austerity and simplicity. Here, the saint’s wrinkled neck and emaciated face capture our attention. The concentration on his face and his expressive posture give the spectator a lively impression of this impassioned preacher and author.

Ruud Priem