Sleeping Child Jesus, Giovanni Battista Morelli (Rome, ? – Madrid

Descriptio In polychrome terracotta, Terracotta sculpture by the Italian sculptor Giovanni Battista Morelli depicting a little boy sleeping next to a skull. It is a work belonging to the ‘vanitas’ genre, which has the purpose of remembering the fragility of life and the brevity of existence. This particular work belongs to the so-called ‘Nascendo morimur’ (“just as we are born, so we die”), in which a baby or small child Jesus is usually depicted next to a skull or some other reminder of death. The author, the Italian sculptor Giovanni Battista Morelli, was chamber sculptor to the King of Spain from 1664, working for Felipe IV and Carlos II. Reference bibliography: AGULLÓ, Mercedes, and PÉREZ SÁNCHEZ, Alfonso E.: «Juan Bautista Morelli», Spanish Art Archive, vol. XLIX, no. 194, Madrid, 1976, p. 109-120. Measurements: 26 X 47 X 21 CM

Estimate:$22,444.42

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