The Christ Child

1740s

Spanish, Madrid, 1708-1767

This painted wood sculpture of the infant Jesus looks approachable and was meant to be seen by a much wider audience. Normally it would have stood on an altar, but it was carried in religious processions through the streets during the annual Festival of "Corpus Christi", celebrating the body of Christ. The Christ Child would have been clothed in a real garment.

Polychromed wood, glass, bone

30 3/4 x 13 7/8 x 10 1/2 in. (78.1 x 35.2 x 26.7 cm) overall

Purchased with funds from the 1999 Maryatt Gala, the Decorative Arts and Paintings Council, the Margaret E. Fuller Fund, the Docent Memorial Committee, the European Painting Fund, and an anonymous donor

99.66

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryAlbuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque Museum, El Alma de Espana, Apr. 17 - July 31, 2005.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Body Language, Dec. 22 - 2018 - ongoing.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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