There’s a very specific reason for that, and it’s not because of a “struggle” to make a picture of a baby. It’s on purpose. And it has to do with the theology of iconography.
This is the point I’ve been trying to get across: real sacred art isn’t naturalistic. It’s theological and symbolic.
This is more or less accurate, except that the belief wasn't that Jesus was born fully physically formed as an adult-looking infant. The Church taught, and teaches still, that the infant Jesus was fully formed intellectually.
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Medieval artists subscribed to the concept of homunculus, which literally means “little man,” or the belief that Jesus was born “perfectly formed and unchanged,” Averett said. Therefore, paintings of Jesus showed him with adult features and physiques, even when the purported child is sitting in his mother’s lap, playing with her robes, or breastfeeding.
This homuncular, adult-looking baby Jesus became the standard for all children, an exemplar that stuck in the Middle Ages because artists at the time had, according to Averett, a “lack of interest in naturalism, and they veered more toward expressionistic conventions.”
The ugly baby trend faded during the Renaissance, when artists rediscovered realism and applied scientific precision to their figurative works. Non-religious art also flourished at the time as the rising middle and upper classes could afford portraits of their family members. The wealthy patrons wanted representations of their darling children that reflected well on the parents, with little boys and girls who were cute...
I was surprised to see what appeared to be modern pillars in the Siena cathedral - that alternating white and black marble design. It seemed sort of brutalist and out of place. Is that style found anywhere else?
The stripes are a central Italian medieval architectural feature. You find them in buildings from this period in Umbria and Tuscany. Just a decorative thing. Siena cathedral is the most famous example, but there are some in Pisa, Florence and Orvieto as well.
They all really did struggle with the characteristics of a baby. Baby Christ always looks like a mini man
There’s a very specific reason for that, and it’s not because of a “struggle” to make a picture of a baby. It’s on purpose. And it has to do with the theology of iconography.
This is the point I’ve been trying to get across: real sacred art isn’t naturalistic. It’s theological and symbolic.
This is more or less accurate, except that the belief wasn't that Jesus was born fully physically formed as an adult-looking infant. The Church taught, and teaches still, that the infant Jesus was fully formed intellectually.
~
Medieval artists subscribed to the concept of homunculus, which literally means “little man,” or the belief that Jesus was born “perfectly formed and unchanged,” Averett said. Therefore, paintings of Jesus showed him with adult features and physiques, even when the purported child is sitting in his mother’s lap, playing with her robes, or breastfeeding.
This homuncular, adult-looking baby Jesus became the standard for all children, an exemplar that stuck in the Middle Ages because artists at the time had, according to Averett, a “lack of interest in naturalism, and they veered more toward expressionistic conventions.”
The ugly baby trend faded during the Renaissance, when artists rediscovered realism and applied scientific precision to their figurative works. Non-religious art also flourished at the time as the rising middle and upper classes could afford portraits of their family members. The wealthy patrons wanted representations of their darling children that reflected well on the parents, with little boys and girls who were cute...
https://youtu.be/U8mDuz8CpK0?si=okQiBm5B32dmQfvI
I was surprised to see what appeared to be modern pillars in the Siena cathedral - that alternating white and black marble design. It seemed sort of brutalist and out of place. Is that style found anywhere else?
The stripes are a central Italian medieval architectural feature. You find them in buildings from this period in Umbria and Tuscany. Just a decorative thing. Siena cathedral is the most famous example, but there are some in Pisa, Florence and Orvieto as well.
https://lionsinthepiazza.com/striped-cathedrals-orvieto-siena/
https://inspirationfordesign.com/stripes-in-florentine-architecture/
Very helpful. Thanks,