Salvator Mundi

This painting corresponds with a format in the Christian tradition in which Jesus is portrayed as the ‘Salvator Mundi’, which translates from the Latin as the ‘Saviour of the World’. Usually, Christ is shown in a frontal position with one hand raised in blessing while he holds an orb topped with a cross in the other. The orb represents the world and Christ’s dominion over it. This painting breaks with tradition and depicts a softer and more informal Salvator Mundi. Turned at a three-quarter angle to the viewer, Jesus is represented here as a child rather than as a man. Instead of holding an orb, he cradles the blue, ocean-covered Earth in his hands – as if he is playing with a ball.

Previously attributed to various Italian artists from Florence and Bologna, it is thought that this painting may be by a follower of the Italian Baroque painter Guercino (1591-1666) – perhaps his student Benedetto Gennari II (1633-1715), who later inherited his master’s workshop.