Throughout the ages artists and craftsmen have made virtuoso carvings as a display of their skill and ingenuity. Although ivory, wood and stone are relatively easy to carve, other materials such as gemstones are much more demanding. Most of these carvings were made for wealthy patrons and collectors, who delighted in the rarity of the material and quality of the carving. The outstanding quality of this warrior saint suggests that it was a collector’s piece. The front of the figure is intricately worked and highly polished. The back, on the other hand, is roughly carved and shows the bark uncut. This contrast was perhaps intended to show how Nature has been transformed into Art.
The sculptor signing H.L. is an anonymous, virtuoso wood carver, probably trained in Austria and Bavaria before he settled in the Upper Rhine area. He seems to have left this area when the official abolition of religious images began to affect the patronage of religious sculpture, and is thought to have established a workshop in the Netherlands.