"Christ Child". Carved and polychromed wooden sculpture. Sevillian School. First third of the 17th century. On its original carved, gilded and polychromed wooden plinth. Child measurements: 70,5 x 29 x 22,5 cm. Total measurements: 86 x 34 x 30,5 cm. The sculptural depiction of the Christ Child enjoyed a great boost in 13th and 14th century Germany, especially in convents, where nuns looked after them as if they were real children. In the Renaissance, and especially in the Baroque period, this type of depiction of the Infant reached its zenith in popularity in Spain, thanks to the fervour around the childhood of Christ that the Council of Trent awakened. These Christs were made mostly for chapels and private residences and for convents, where the nuns treated them as if they were their children, making their clothes and hanging all sorts of jewels on them. On occasions the affection that these religious women had towards their “artificial sons” reached such a level that they referred to them as their “boyfriend” or “husband”. The small Christ Child that we have here is a copy of the famous Christ Child made by Juan Martínez Montañés (1568-1649), who, in his turn, seems to have been inspired by engravings by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) and Martín de Vos (1532-1603). In fact, on the 30th August 1606 Pedro de Cuenca, the administrator of the Sacramental del Sagrario Fraternity in Seville, commissioned the “God of Wood” to sculpt a triumphant Christ Child “of a convenient size for some silver jewellery that the Cofraternity has, which would be a short “vara”, more or less… in cedar wood from Havana planted in a small cushion which comes out of the length of the wood itself and on wooden urn.” The work was concluded on the 2nd February 1607, for which he was paid 1,300 reals, it was then polychromed by the painter Gaspar de Raxis. This model by Montañes, which was continued by his disciple Juan de Mesa (1583-1627), and many other sculptors from Seville and other parts of Andalusia (los Ribas, Alonso Cano (1601-1667), etc), was enormously successful, leading it to be mass produced both in wood and metal, especially in pewter, in which form we can find huge numbers of copies over the length and breadth of Spain and Latin America. Professor Hernández Díaz notes that “the marvellous Christ Child in the Sacramental del Sagrario, is one of the most fortunate depictions of the theme in Spanish art, where the master tries and succeeds in highlighting the supernatural. In this brilliant version Montañés was able to combine the charm of childhood with the majestic appearance of God the Redeemer,” and with “this image he reached the heights of the representation of this theme, showing the depth of theological deification with singular theodicy, offering a statue of enormous tenderness and profound spirit, which magnetises the beholder.” Our example stands on a rectangular plinth with the upper part lined with lace-edged material with curly dead leaves decoration in the corners. The Child is naked, although he could have been dressed, showing stylised anatomy, but with the muscles and bones strongly marked. The arms are slightly separated from the torso, at 45º angles. Also, he gives blessing with his right hand, while it looks as if he would have held some element in the left. The original Christ Child by Montañés first held a cross and later, in 1629, the artist Pablo Legot changed the hands for other lead ones so that the statue could hold a chalice to bring in the allegory of the eucharist. His head, with a smiling face and swollen cheeks, has a prominent mane of hair composed of a mass of curls which create play with chiaroscuro, the central bun stands out, a typical characteristic of Montañés’ creations, and so for all their copies. The differences in the style, specifically from the famous example by Montañés, are absolutely clear. In our example, the canon is more elongated; the anatomy, which denotes a certain stiffness, has quite articulated modelling, the head tends towards an oval shape and has very swollen cheeks and hair with a rather more voluminous bun. Also, the left hand is held low, and the legs, rather than being separated, are almost together, making a slight counterpose perceptible in the wrinkles that the left knee forms. We must point out the extremely beautiful face, which leans to watch the worshippers which he blesses, as well as the very meticulously worked hair which is splendidly trepanned, capturing each of the infinite curls of which the hair is composed. The face has a slight smile, which is, however, charged with a certain melancholy. The slanting eyes, with strongly marked eyelids, are painted onto the wood itself, as are the eyebrows, whilst the mouth, with fine lips, is barely open. We would like to thank Javier Baladrón, doctor in History of Art, for cataloguing this piece.
