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Xavery, Pieter
(b Antwerp, c. 1647; d ?Antwerp, after 1674). Flemish sculptor. He left Antwerp in 1670 for Leiden, where he enrolled as a student of mathematics at the university. He may have been a colleague of Rombout Verhulst. However, Xavery’s work shows a greater inclination towards genre and picturesque caricature than Verhulst’s. This is particularly marked in his exuberant, small terracotta figures with their oversized heads and prominent facial features, such as Two Laughing Jesters, Lady with a Lapdog, Two Madmen and Lady Portrayed as Flora (all 1673; Amsterdam, Rijksmus., all signed). Small-scale works in other media include his signed and dated ivory Adam and Eve (1671; Amsterdam, Rijksmus.) and his bronze Peasant Boy and Girl (both c. 1675; Amsterdam, Rijksmus.). His terracotta relief of the Flagellation of Christ (1667; Bruges, Gruuthusemus.) is a rare example of a religious subject. Xavery also worked on some monumental works, including stone figures for the pediment and gable decoration (c. 1671–2) of the Gravensteen, Leiden, the pediment sculpture (1673) for the house of the ‘Vergulde Turk’ on the Breestraat and a group of 23 figures of lawyers and judges for the Vierschaar (all in situ). He remained active in Leiden until 1674, after which there is no record of his activity.
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