Andalusian master; c. 1700.

Andalusian Master; c. 1700.
"Infant Jesus as Salvator Mundi".
Polychrome lead.
Presents faults.
Measurements: 53 x 17 x 16 cm.
Devotional sculpture made in polychrome lead that shows Christ Child as "Salvator Mundi", an iconography that represents the Christological concept of Jesus Christ as universal savior, in relation to his role as judge in the Final Judgment and his character of Redeemer. It is characterized by presenting Christ raising his right hand as a sign of blessing, while he supports with his left hand an orb symbolizing the universe, emphasizing the universal character of Christian doctrine and of Christ's redemptive act. The model chosen here by the sculptor is a Christ Child who presents a soft flesh despite the material, the soft features and velvety tones, moving away from hieratic models that were associated with the iconography of the Salvator Mundi, resolve this piece that allegorizes idealism in the way of resolving the candid countenance.
Lost since the end of Classical Antiquity, the technique of the molds by pieces was recovered thanks to the technical advances of the Renaissance related to the casting of metals, with it could be obtained with some ease, from an original model in wood, clay, plaster or other material, replicas with a high quality finish, although they needed the final touches of the master. The use of bronze and, fundamentally, of lower melting point alloys such as pewter, a mixture of lead with parts of tin and antimony, the lower cost of the material and its processing, as well as access to a demand for small format sculpture of a devotional nature, meant that Seville became, from the end of the 16th century, the main supplier in the Hispanic sphere of this type of images cast in metal, which, with their polychrome finish, competed advantageously with those made of wood.
This is certified by Pacheco in his treatise on the Art of Painting (1649) when he speaks of the surplus of cast things, particularly Crucifixes and Children in his time, or the existence in Seville of specialized artists such as Diego de Oliver, who in 1619 declared himself a master caster of relief figures and in 1629 specifically of lead children.