Baby Jesus, Lombard painter active in the 17th century

Oil painting on canvas

This painting depicts an unusual yet pleasant iconographic theme, occasionally used by the Christian tradition but represented here following a peculiar iconography which places the Divine Child lying on a white cloth spread in a small and low straw manger; the sacred scene is set in a sort of childish alcove, from which a natural glimpse opens up into the background, with white sheets and pillow.

Jesus is awake and peers directly at the observer, not asleep as in most of this type of work, and in a serene and lively attitude, with the carefreeness of any newborn child, and above all the scene is devoid of the usual attributes of the Passion or other references that can evoke his future of sacrifice.

It is therefore a sacred painting which, by virtue of its probable destination as an auspicious gift for a birth, is not surrounded by any excess of religiosity.

Near the child is a scroll with the biblical inscription “Deliciae meae esse cum filiis hominum” (Prov. VII, 31). This message is based on the invitation to every man, from an early age, to be virtuous, citing as motivation the great love that God pours on man, especially when he is a child. Hence the meaning of the phrase Deliciae meae esse cum filiis hominum, that is ''I have placed my delights among the children of man'', because they are innocent and pure, and therefore have not yet fallen prey to vice.

Particularly remarkable are her delicate complexion and the care with which her facial features were defined, so realistic that we could therefore assume it was a real portrait.

The tenderly natural interpretation reveals a depiction carried out by an artist active in the middle of the seventeenth century: with greater precision we can attribute the execution to an Italian (or Flemish) painter active in Lombardy (compare some maternities by Giulio Cesare Procaccini, from which our author must necessarily have been inspired by the depiction of the child).

The work is in a good state of conservation and is complete with a beautiful gilded wooden frame.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The painting is sold accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card.

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