This figure of the Immaculate Virgin Mary is carved in royal cedar wood, gilded in fine gold leaf and egg tempera, and chiselled with polychrome oil inlays.
It is nearly impossible to keep the city of Seville separate from Semana Santa, the Holy Week of the Roman Catholic Church where devotion meets tradition, deeply rooted in the soul of its inhabitants and consequently into the craftsmanship community. Mariano Sánchez del Pino prides himself in stating that since he was a child it was clear to him he would become an imaginero, a sculptor of religious themes. Trained in the local school of arts and crafts, Mariano has always been attracted to art and especially to polychrome wood sculpture, a craft developed in Seville over centuries. His first commission dates back to when he was 17 years old. Since the early 2000s he has been working solo in his studio, specialising in wood sculpting, carving and gold engraving.
Read the full interviewPhoto: ©MARIANO SANCHEZ DEL PINO
This figure of the Immaculate Virgin Mary is carved in royal cedar wood, gilded in fine gold leaf and egg tempera, and chiselled with polychrome oil inlays.
Photo: ©MARIANO SANCHEZ DEL PINO
This is the figure of a Roman centurion holding a whip for the procession of the Column of Carmona (Seville). Carved in cedar wood, it is finished with oil polishing before being dressed.
Photo: ©MARIANO SANCHEZ DEL PINO
Commissioned by the Seville Virgen del Prado brotherhood, this angel is carved in cedar wood with gilded wings. It is used in religious pageants.
Photo: ©MARIANO SANCHEZ DEL PINO
This wood carved statue is 1.78m tall and is an image for the mystery procession of the Brotherhood of St. Jerome of Seville.
Photo: ©MARIANO SANCHEZ DEL PINO
This 1.8m tall figure of a Roman centurion is made to be carried in the mystery procession of the Brotherhood of San Jerónimo de Sevilla.