This expressive terracotta bozzetto depicts an unknown male saint in a dramatic gesture, his right arm extended downward in an emphatic pointing motion while his left hand is held across his chest. The figure is shown in dynamic contrapposto, his body twisting as he gestures, his head turned and tilted to follow the direction of his pointing finger. The saint wears flowing drapery that falls in deeply carved, animated folds, creating strong plays of light and shadow across the surface. The sculptor has captured a moment of intense spiritual communication—the saint appears to be directing attention downward, perhaps toward earth, hell, or a specific individual or event below, while his expressive face and animated pose convey urgency and authority.

The spontaneity and vitality of the modeling are characteristic of terracotta bozzetti—preliminary sculptural sketches created by artists to work out compositions before executing final works in more permanent materials such as marble, stone, or wood. The term bozzetto (plural bozzetti) derives from the Italian word for "sketch," and these three-dimensional studies allowed sculptors to explore spatial relationships, gesture, drapery, and lighting effects in a malleable medium that could be quickly worked and revised. The immediacy of terracotta modeling preserved the artist's original creative energy, capturing the fluidity and emotion of the initial conception in ways that more laboriously executed final sculptures sometimes lost. The present terracotta bozzetto was presumably preparatory for a larger sculpture, perhaps an apostle figure intended for a church. Such apostle figures were commonly created in series for church decoration, flanking altars, adorning rood screens, or standing in niches along nave walls. However, as no connection to an existing work has been found yet, it is also entirely possible that this work was made for the market as an independent sculpture. Eighteenth-century collectors increasingly appreciated bozzetti as works of art in their own right, valuing them for the artistic spontaneity and creative process they revealed.

Jan-Baptist Engelbert Pompe was born in Antwerp in 1743 and was baptized on the day of his birth in the Church of Sint-Walburgis. His father, Walter Pompe (1703-1777), was one of the most important and prolific sculptors in 18th-century Antwerp, and Jan-Baptist trained in his father's workshop, absorbing the technical skills and aesthetic sensibility of the late Baroque tradition. Jan-Baptist's brother Pauwel (1742-1822) also became a sculptor, making the Pompe family one of Antwerp's most significant sculptural dynasties. Jan-Baptist enrolled at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts, where he distinguished himself by winning many prizes between 1768 and 1776. His success at the Academy established his reputation as one of the leading sculptors of the younger generation in Antwerp. In the winter of 1772, from January 15 to 17, together with his father and brother Pauwel, he crafted snow sculptures on the Antwerp streets and public squares—a tradition that demonstrated both technical virtuosity and civic engagement, as these ephemeral works provided public entertainment during the cold months.

Together with his father, Jan-Baptist worked on important public commissions, including sculptures for the Middelburg town hall and for the former church on Leeuwenstraat in Rotterdam. These collaborations allowed him to contribute to significant architectural ensembles while developing his own artistic voice. One of his independent works, a Christ figure in ivory, was placed in the Saint Anthony Church in Antwerp, demonstrating his skill in working diverse materials and his importance to the city's religious institutions. Due to the quality of his work, Pompe became a protégé of the Antwerp bishop, Monsignor Cornelius Franciscus de Nelis (1736-1798). This episcopal patronage was significant, as Bishop de Nelis was an important figure in the religious and cultural life of the Austrian Netherlands during the turbulent late 18th century. The bishop's support would have provided Pompe with access to prestigious ecclesiastical commissions and placed him at the center of Antwerp's artistic establishment.

The present bozzetto descended directly from the artist's estate, passing through his family, which suggests it remained in Pompe's possession rather than being delivered to a patron as part of a commission. This provenance supports the possibility that the work may have been created as an independent piece for the market, or that a projected larger commission was never executed. The bozzetto's exceptional state of preservation and the immediacy of its modeling make it a vivid record of Pompe's creative process and his mastery of the sculptural language of late Baroque religious art.