This refined painting represents Jesus in the company of his parents and maternal grandparents. Following the example of its Flemish precedents, it was painted on a sheet of copper, an expensive medium used for small devotional paintings of great virtuosity. It depicts a celestial scene, in which Jesus appears enthroned with the orb, whilst blessing with his right hand. His majestic gesture is reinforced not only by the symmetrical outline of the composition, but also through the presence of God the Father and the Holy Spirit in the space above. Led by an angel, the soul –represented by a woman dressed in white– prostrates herself before the throne and shows her chains to the Child. Without doubt, the person who ordered this work identified with the latter figure in symbolizing by this means his/her spiritual enslavement to the Christ Child. (RK)
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