Spanish school, workshops of imagery of Olot. End of XIX century.

Spanish school, workshops of imagery of Olot. End of XIX century.
"Child Jesus of the Passion.
In carved and polychrome wood.
Measurements: 90 x 40 x 20 cm.

The sculpture represents the Infant Jesus of the Passion, an iconography of deep devotional roots in Christian imagery, especially widespread from the eighteenth century. The figure appears standing on a small rocky mountain, holding with outstretched arms a wood that anticipates the future cross of his sacrifice. The gesture, serene and resigned, symbolizes the early acceptance of the redemptive destiny.

The Child wears a greenish-water tunic, slightly tightened at the waist by a pink sash topped with golden tassels. The garment is decorated with a discreet central buttoning and golden trim on the lower edge and sleeves. On her head she wears a gleam of golden rays, an attribute that underlines her divine nature. The bare feet rest on a group of rocks, a compositional resource that gives stability to the figure and accentuates its verticality.

The face, with soft features and sweet expression, reflects the characteristic infantile idealization of Catalan religious imagery. The gaze, directed to the front, transmits a mixture of candor and awareness of sacrifice, a feature that connects childlike tenderness with Passionist symbolism. The polychrome, applied in soft and luminous tones, contributes to the effect of purity and innocence that defines the whole.

Due to its formal and technical features, the piece can be attributed to the Olot imagery workshops, active since the mid-19th century. These workshops managed to combine the heritage of the devotional baroque with the serial production methods of the industrial era. The use of wood paste or polychrome stucco, instead of carved wood, allowed a massive diffusion of religious models at affordable prices, while maintaining a remarkable artistic quality.

Although inspired by 18th century typologies, this sculpture corresponds to the neo-baroque reinterpretation developed by the Olot School between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Its polished workmanship, delicate chromatism and balance between realism and sentimentality place it within the aesthetic line promoted by the Girona workshops, which sought an accessible and emotionally effective devotional art.

The Infant Jesus of the Passion became one of the most widespread images of Olot's imagery. Its iconography, which shows the Child carrying the cross before the Passion, evoked the innocent acceptance of the redemptive sacrifice and encouraged domestic devotion, especially in female and school environments. In this sense, the work not only fulfills an aesthetic function, but also a catechetical and affective one, by presenting the redemption through childlike tenderness.

Overall, this sculpture is an excellent example of the syncretism between Baroque tradition and Catalan religious industry, a testimony of how Olot's imagery managed to perpetuate classical devotional models while adapting them to the sensibilities of modern religiosity.