Andalusian School; XVIII century.

Andalusian School; XVIII century.
"Infant Jesus with the attributes of the passion".
Oil on panel.
Measurements: 24 x 19 cm.
In this painting Jesus is represented as an innocent child carrying in his hands the cross of his future martyrdom and wearing a purple tunic, alluding to the Calvary Christian message and the concepts of peace and purity. Christian art took delight throughout its history, and especially in the Modern Age, in projecting the innocent childhood of Jesus next to the representation of the cross. The contrast between the happy unconcern of a child and the horror of the sacrifice to which he was predestined was designed to move hearts. This idea was already familiar to the theologians of the Middle Ages, but the artists of the time expressed it discreetly, either through the worried expression of the Virgin, or through the bunch of grapes that the Child squeezes in his hands. It was especially in the art of the Counter-Reformation that this funeral presentiment of the Passion was expressed by means of transparent allusions. Zurbarán shows the Infant Jesus pricking himself with his finger while braiding a crown of thorns. Murillo, the little St. John the Baptist showing him his cross of reeds. Finally, the theme finds its most poignant expression in the theme of the Infant Jesus Sleeping on a cross. Here Jesus is not presented as a baby but as a somewhat older child, looking directly at us, fully aware of his destiny, and in fact bearing it voluntarily, as a burden he accepts on behalf of humanity.
Given the importance given to religious images in the Hispanic world, during the 17th and 18th centuries ambitious pictorial series and extensive iconographic programs were created for churches and convents, as well as printed prints, medals and reliquaries for private devotion. As a whole, regardless of their size or support, these images fulfilled the objective of sacralizing daily life beyond the altars.