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Mater Dolorosa sculpture from the Capilla de Vera Cruz

Venancio Gombáu Santos

1850

photographic

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Early 19th Century

Dominant colour

Mater Dolorosa sculpture from the Capilla de Vera Cruz is a 1850 photographic by Venancio Gombáu Santos, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Venancio Gombáu Santos
When & what style?: 1850
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This photo shows a sculpture called *Mater Dolorosa* from the Capilla de Vera Cruz. It was made by Venancio Gombáu Santos in the late 1800s. The image comes from a big photo collection once owned by John Singer Sargent. The Victoria and Albert Museum got these photos from his sisters after he died in 1925. You’ll find these photos in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection. museum: Victoria and Albert Museum

The story of this work

Overview

The sculpture *Mater Dolorosa* from the Capilla de Vera Cruz, created by Venancio Gombáu Santos in 1850, is part of a collection of 611 photographs once owned by John Singer Sargent. The photograph was donated to the museum by Sargent’s sisters in 1925, shortly after his death, and was later integrated into the institution’s photograph and sculpture archives. The collection reflects Sargent’s travels and interests, with a notable subset dedicated to Spanish religious art and architecture. Sargent’s repeated visits to Spain and his admiration for its cultural heritage suggest a deliberate…

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

Venancio Gombáu Santos

This late 19th-century carving turns sorrow into quiet wood. The Capilla de Vera Cruz houses a small but haunting Mater Dolorosa—its bowed head and fallen cheek carved from a single dark plank, the thorns pressed into…

See the richer artist page