17th Century French School Christ as Shepherd

A monumental carved panel in solid Narra wood, attributed to José P. Alcántara—one of the most celebrated woodcarvers of the 20th century and a revered figure in the Philippines, whe...

Exceptional hand-carved wooden ram's head wall mount, made in Spain for Sarreid Ltd., 1970s. Sculpted with striking detail, the head features curling horns, deeply carved fleece, and...

This is the Good Shepherd With Lamb Painting. It depicts an oil painting in canvas of the Christ Child seated in a large rock holding with his right hand the shepherd stick and the l...

Pietro Bardellino (Italy - Naples, 1732 - 1806), attr., Sacred Heart of the Child Jesus Measurements: with frame, cm L 86 x H 99 x P 8; only the canvas, cm L 78 x H 64 The painting, made in oil on canvas, represents the Sacred Heart of the Child Jesus. Stylistically the work is attributable to Pietro Bardellino (Italy, Naples, 1732 - Naples, 1806), a pupil of Francesco De Mura and considered by critics one of the most gifted and sensitive exponents of the Rococo style in Naples. The canvas represents the Child Jesus, surrounded by flowers in an outdoor setting, while showing the sacred heart. The canvas has a well-balanced color and a strong sweetness of the child’s traits, which with the complicit gesture of the right hand, involves the viewer in the intimate and delicate sharing of the garden in which he sits. The roses, in addition to being a beautiful piece of still life, contribute to enrich the Christological message, being bearers of symbolic meanings. Marian attributes par excellence, are often side by side with Christ, whose thorns foreshadow the Passion. In the canvas, on the top left, two cherubim are observed: among them, according to the Old Testament, is God: the author therefore puts into place an iconographic and iconological hyperbole that amplifies its meaning. The iconographic theme of the Child Jesus with the Sacred Heart in his hand spread between the second half of the eighteenth century and the first of the following century. With the worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Catholic Church intends to honour the Heart of Jesus Christ, one of the organs symbolizing his humanity, which by intimate union with the Divinity, has the right to worship and love of the Saviour for men, of which His Heart is the symbol. It represents one of the fundamental devotions of Christian life, as it manifests the true face of God, who is prodigal and boundless love. It was the French mystic Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque...