Sevillian school; XVII century.

Sevillian school; XVII century.
"Baby Jesus asleep".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It has Repainting and restorations on the pictorial surface.
It has a XIX century frame with damage.
Measurements: 75 x 55 cm; 90,5 x 71 cm (frame).
In the present work we see how Jesus Child sleeps peacefully. The prefiguration of Death and the Passion, crystallized in the representation of the sleeping Child, oblivious to his destiny. A theme of great acceptance in Baroque aesthetics. As a model of perfection for all other children, the Child Jesus is perennially portrayed as an example of holiness, virtue and love. The canvas follows a common trend in paintings of the period on childhood and its function of arousing strong devotional feelings in accordance with Christ's teachings on the innocent faith of children: "Truly I tell you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven". (Matthew 18: 3).

The seventeenth century in the Sevillian school is the arrival of the Baroque, with the triumph of naturalism against Mannerist idealism, a loose invoice and many other aesthetic liberties. At this time the school reached its greatest splendor, both for the quality of the works and for the primordial rank of Sevillian Baroque painting. Thus, during the transition to Baroque we find Juan del Castillo, Antonio Mohedano and Francisco Herrera el Viejo, in whose works the rapid brushstroke and the crude realism of the style is already manifested, and Juan de Roelas, introducer of Venetian colorism. In the middle of the century the period reached its peak, with figures such as Zurbarán, a young Alonso Cano and Velázquez. Finally, in the last third of the century we find Murillo and Valdés Leal, founders in 1660 of an Academy where many of the painters active during the first quarter of the 18th century were trained, such as Meneses Osorio, Sebastián Gómez, Lucas Valdés and others.