The Triumphant Infant Jesus in a Crib
Description of the work
The work is designed and carved in cedar wood by the young sculptor Juan Alberto Pérez Rojas, born in Ronda, but settled in Seville, where he did his studies, expanding his knowledge of sculpture and imagery in the workshop of Professor Juan Manuel Miñarro.
It is composed of two pieces that fit together perfectly, forming a homogeneous whole. We are referring to the Child Jesus himself and the cradle or heavenly bed. The whole is represented in natural size, which helps the realism of the scene.
The Infant Jesus is of complete size, that is to say, of round bulk and finished in all its parts, so that the infantile anatomy of the newborn is correctly developed to be contemplated from all the points of view, in spite of the fact that as it has been indicated before, the Infant Jesus forms a single group together with the cradle, where he rests tenderly. This is also due in part to the final function that this work will have, that although throughout the year it will be exposed in a showcase of the parish of the Incarnation of Marbella, during the days of Christmas the parish priest of the same will take it to give it to kiss the faithful.
This is not the first time Alberto has dealt with the anatomy of children, as evidenced by the groups of child angels and even the representation of a Child Jesus blessing for a private collection. The latter, also made in 2010, is a representation of a standing Baby Jesus, but despite this difference, both share a number of parallels, both formal, technical and even compositional.
The Infant Jesus is lying on the cradle. His body is slightly arched, reminding us of the "serpentinata" compositions of Italian mannerism, which were used in Andalusia during the 16th century and part of the 17th century by masters of the stature of Jerónimo Hernández. We cannot speak of a clear "contraposto", as the image of the Child is not standing, but it is present in the concept of the composition. Thus, we observe that the Child Jesus slightly raises his right arm, with whose hand he makes the gesture of blessing those present. The opposite arm develops on the same plane as his torso, delicately resting his hand on a seraphim's head, creating a touch of tenderness and even anecdotal. The position of the legs is opposite to that of the arms, which increases the compositional force and gives movement to the image itself. While his right leg remains stretched out, the opposite leg is bent upwards, resting his foot on a representation of the orb.
The beautiful head of the Infant Jesus is very beautifully made, slightly tilted to the right. It shows fine eyebrows, open, almond-shaped glass eyes, a small, closed mouth, a not very pronounced nose and prominent cheekbones, features that clearly correspond to that of a very young child. The hair of the Child Jesus leaves the whole face clear, including both ears. This one is developed on the basis of big locks in masses, in which some smooth planes stand out, which in my opinion help to enhance the volumetry of the same one.
The incarnation of the image is matte, made in soft tones, in which stand out pinkish areas to highlight her infantile cheeks.
With regard to the heavenly cradle, we can see that it is composed of three types of elements: the bed itself where the Child Jesus rests, the heads of the seraphim and the beams of lightning.
The cradle, as well as the image of the Child Jesus, is carved in cedar wood, later it was gilded by the González Brothers in order to make the simple estofado that is developed by the same one, by the orb and by the wings of the seraphim. On the back of what would be the head is the following legend: "THIS IMAGE WAS MADE BY THE SCULPTOR PÉREZ ROJAS, WHILE HE WAS THE PARISH PRIEST D. JOSÉ LÓPEZ SOLÓRZANO. SEVILLE 2010".
Four are the heads of seraphs that appear in the cradle, three in the headboard, forming part of it and one in the lower left part, where the left hand of the Child God rests. The first three of them give strength to the composition, they themselves create the supposed heavenly head of the cradle, they frame the newborn child, they escort him and almost present him to us. These heads share similarities with the head of the Child Jesus, especially in the hair, in the crystal eyes and in the flesh tones themselves. The groups of wings of blue, red and golden tones do not follow a general pattern, that is to say, they unfold in a random way, in several directions, some of them even going out of the limits of the cradle, leaving the composition of the work somewhat open.
The cradle and the whole work in general is completed with 17 groups of rays of gold-plated metal, made by the goldsmith workshop of Jesús Domínguez. These form an asymmetrical and very effective burst of light that emanates from the surroundings of the Divine Newborn. This very baroque effect of combining clouds with groups of rays and angels' heads was developed extensively by Bernini in some of his best works, and spread rapidly from Rome itself.
Iconografía del Niño Jesús de cuna
We have already seen how the subject depicted is the newborn baby Jesus, in his cradle, surrounded by a court of seraphim heads and emanating a great radiance. The subject of the birth of Jesus is very little treated in the canonical Gospels, only briefly described by Matthew and in somewhat more detail by Luke, who notes that he was born in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes. It is not even clear where the birth really took place, for if Matthew and Luke point out that it was in Bethlehem, Luke and John imply that Jesus came from Nazareth, hence he was known as the Nazarene. The birth in Bethlehem also has the reading that it was the birthplace of King David, of which he was a descendant. It is actually in the apocryphal Gospels where we find many more details of the birth scene.
The scene after the birth of Jesus, that is, when he lies in the manger, has been represented in various scenes, each and every one of them, as adorations. The scenes of the Virgin Mary adoring the Child God, which gradually replaced the scene of the birth itself, have been known since the 15th century. The same happens with the adoration of the shepherds and the Magi from the East, known as the Epiphany. In the case of the sculpture that concerns us, the Child Jesus is shown alone in the scene, and therefore we, the faithful, are the adorers of the little Jesus. This type of Infant Jesus in the cradle, exempt, seems to have been one of the first models that took root in devotional matters, and judging by the large number that exist and that even today commissions of the same are made, it shows that this devotion is still in force. In this case the Child is awake and blesses us, but in others he sleeps or simply rests both arms on his body.
The fact that Juan Alberto has placed a burst of luminous rays around him, emphasizes the Divinity of Jesus from the very moment of his birth. The theme of the "luminous" Child Jesus was logically given earlier in painting, because of the greater facility for such representation. In the Revelations of Saint Bridget of 1370, it is said that the Child was born suddenly, enveloped in a light so dazzling that it completely eclipsed that of Joseph's little candle. That the Christ Child appeared strongly illuminated in his manger has been known since the 11th century in Byzantine art. But it is from the middle of the 15th century that it is the Child Jesus who radiates the light to the others and not Him illuminated from the outside. This is the case of the work we are commenting on.
In this sculptural work, four winged heads also stand out. As almost always, it was painting that first introduced the child angels into the nativity scene, especially from the 15th century onwards, coming down from heaven and hovering around the Child Jesus. In the case of this work, we see how the little Jesus is "monarch in his court" and we can see four winged heads of angels. These must be the heads of cherubim or seraphim, which are the two highest classes of angels in the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Both are always around the throne of God, which in this case is the humble manger. They differ in their number of wings, six for the seraphim and four for the cherubim. They are in the service of God, but their origins can be traced back to the Babylonian Kerubin.
Note: Álvaro Dávila-Armero del Arenal, Art History graduate. Photos taken by Roberto Villarrica.
También puede interesarle
Si desea conocer otras obras relacionadas con la iconografía del Niño Jesús y la escultura sacra de carácter devocional, le invitamos a descubrir la siguiente imagen realizada por Juan Alberto Pérez Rojas.
Niño Jesús de cuna para la Parroquia de Santas Justa y Rufina
Esta delicada representación del Niño Jesús de cuna, tallada en madera de cedro y policromada al óleo, profundiza en una iconografía de gran arraigo en la tradición cristiana: la humanidad del Verbo encarnado contemplada desde la ternura, la serenidad y la intimidad espiritual.