The exhibition San Juan de la Cruz, Esperanza de alto Vuelo, opened to the public in Alba de Tormes as part of the San Juan de la Cruz exhibition. As part of the celebrations for the centenary of the Saint, the displays include one of the most important elements from a historical and scientific point of view: the reconstruction of the face of St. John of the Cross.

The study, entitled Fisonomía original de San Juan de la Cruz (Original Appearance of St. John of the Cross), traces the process that made it possible to approximate the true face of the mystical doctor. This process began in 1992 in Segovia with canonical recognition on the fourth centenary of the saint’s death. Under the direction of Dr. Massimo Benedettucci, the scientific reconstruction of the face was carried out starting from the skull of St. John of the Cross.

The technique used consisted of making a plaster cast, anatomically reconstructing the muscles and soft tissues, and interpreting the features not directly defined by the bone structure based on historical descriptions. In this case, the work of Fr. Jerónimo de San José (Ezquerra de Rozas) was heavily relied upon.

The reconstruction was then used to create a bronze bust by the Fonderia Artistica Cavallari in Rome, using the lost wax technique. This process involves creating a wax sculpture, encasing it in a heat-resistant mold, melting out the wax, and pouring molten metal into the cavity. The artist Alejandro López Araguez has now created a bust in traditional oil polychrome, giving greater realism and expressive depth to the figure.

Used with permission from the Secretary for Information OCD