The Infant Jesus of Mechelen () is an unadorned 16th-century wooden image depicting the Child Jesus holding a globus cruciger and imparting a blessing. It is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris, as a typical representative of a type of image produced in considerable numbers in 16th-century Mechelen (Malines, modern Belgium) and exported all over the Catholic world.
Among santo collectors, the image is often referred to the âÂÂfraternal twinâ of the Santo Niño de Cebú, which is widely venerated in the Philippines. The two images have crucial similarities in posture, gestures, facial expression, and dimensions. In September 2009, the image was privately acquired and is now housed in the Louvre Museum under security glass. It is displayed naked without the regalia, accessories or vestments found on many Child Jesus icons.
In the mid-fifteenth century, workshops in Mechelen (Malines, in modern Belgium) began producing small statuettes of male and female saints, and of the Infant Jesus, nude and standing on a socle. The dolls are almost always of walnut, preferably carved from a single block of wood. The guild in Mechelen collaborated with workshops in Brussels, and a client could order these Poupées de Malines (âÂÂMalines dollsâÂÂ) with the distinctive polychromy from either.
These images often were part of an altarpiece or an âÂÂEnclosed GardenâÂÂ, which were âÂÂretables, sometimes with painted side panels, the central section filled not only with narrative sculpture, but also with all sorts of trinkets and hand-worked textiles.âÂÂ
Used for private devotion, âÂÂMalines dollsâ were primarily found in private chapels and beguinages. The Infant Jesus proved particularly popular with convents in the region. Produced in large quantities, they were relatively inexpensive, and became a popular item of export to Spain and Portugal. By the first quarter of the sixteenth century, the dolls were ubiquitous throughout Europe.
The image depicts Jesus Christ in his infancy stage. The polychrome materials and characteristics are distinctly from Mechelen, a former part of the Southern Netherlands dating from the early 1500s. The child image alone is made of walnut, carved from a single piece of wood. The present image comprises the following details:
Evidence of European colonial characteristics are present on the statue, such as the gilding of the hair using gold leaf, while lead paint and oily potassium is used to the skin, similar to the encarnación technique of sculpting and painting. Further microscopic examination shows the image was carved in Mechelen, but was probably painted in Brussels before distribution in the Spanish colonial empire.
Both the Infant Jesus of Mechelen and the Santo Niño de Cebú are of the same height at approximately 30 cm (12 inches) tall. Similar traits are the standing pose, naked body, right hand in a blessing gesture, and golden orbs in the left. Assuming that the camera shots are frontally accurate, the facial features are almost exactly identical with the following exceptions:
The history of the imageâÂÂs previous ownership is unknown and unpublished by neither the Louvre nor Parisian authorities until its acquisition from a private collector in September 2009 by the Louvre Endowment Fund. It underwent polychrome study, xylology inspection, and radiography to confirm its age and the authenticity of its colonial style. The image is presently housed in the Louvre Museum under the Department of Sculptures.
In 2012, several American Traditionalist Catholics from Texas and New York petitioned the Louvre Endowment Fund that it purchase and release custody of the image, but the request was denied. The French magazine La Tribune de l'art featured the image on 16 June 2010 as part of recent Mediaeval acquisitions by the Louvre Museum.