The presence of an iron armature, and the way in which the figure has been constructed with successive layers of terracotta, are clear indications that the present piece is an artist's original bozzetto for a larger work, almost certainly in marble. Stylistic evidence, particularly in the depiction of the face and beard, suggests that the modeller was Flemish, but the confident and graceful handling of the positioning of the limbs also suggests a secure knowledge of developments in the world of Italian sculpture.
Michiel Van der Voort (1667-1737) was an influential and prolific Flemish sculptor who became a master in 1690, and who lived in Italy from 1690-1693. The bulk of his work is religious, and among his surviving sketches are a number of drawings for figures of apostles, where he experimented with various positions and the interplay of light and shade (Brussels, op.cit., nos. 181-185). It is known that Van der Voort moved from this stage to the creation of terracotta bozzetti, and it is interesting that among these terracottas, a set of twelve apostles were sold at auction from the collection of 'the widow Van Scherpenbergh' on 19 August 1801 in Antwerp, and only one of these figures has re-surfaced (Brussels, op.cit., no. 186). The treatment of the drapery on the present apostle is, however, considerably more complex than the broad swathes evident in Van der Voort's drawings, and may therefore represent the work of one of the many students which the master is known to have had in his studio.