Page 147 - The mystery of faith

Montañés’ earlier models. The head is broad with an increased
sense of volume that is not entirely the result of the thick,
compact arrangement of hair. The rounded cheeks heightened
with touches of coral-pink and the arched eyebrows impart a
sense of vulnerability to the face that recalls the Virgen de la
Granada, formerly in the parish church of Our Lady of Granada
in Moguer (Huelva), which was one of Felipe’s last works (Fig. 3).
The gaze is frontal and framed by the hair combed with a left-of-
centre parting, falling in long waves on either side. Antonio
Palomino wrote that Pedro Roldán was ‘the first person to sculpt
children’s heads with naturalistically composed hair; because
previously they had all been fashioned with three small buns, one
on top of the head and one on each side’.9 However, this
innovation should be credited to José de Arce because his Infant
Christ in San Juan de la Palma, which has the same hairstyle as
that described in Palomino, actually predates Roldán’s arrival in
Seville (Fig. 2a).

The left hand is raised high, and the half-closed fist would have Fig. 2
originally held a tall thin cross to refer to the infant Christ’s
future role as Saviour. Interestingly, unlike previous infant
incarnations, here, the figure is not posed to bestow a blessing
with the right hand, but instead holds it low and half-closed,
possibly to carry a basket with the symbols of the Passion. This
placement of the hands at different levels also contributes to a
sense of childlike movement in the work. The sense of energy
combined with the tenderness of facial features, and the richly
decorated tunic, which reveals a small part of the upper chest,
all hint at the preciousness and vulnerability of infancy, and
allow the work to communicate a more accessible, more
humanistic image of Christ. The base of the work is comprised
of five seraphim, three of which are arranged frontally, but each
gazing in a different direction. According to known documented
works, this use of seraphim first occurs in the Infant Christ in
San Juan de la Palma, which, it should be noted, has the slightly
more attenuated proportions of a small boy, rather than the
chubby solidity of the infant figure seen here.

The present Infant Baptist displays an even greater sense of
dynamism with its forward striding posture, and position of the
arms. As with the previous sculpture, the Infant Baptist does

Fig. 2a

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