Christuskind met rijksappel maakt zegenend gebaar 1521

Sebald Beham created this engraving, “Christuskind met rijksappel maakt zegenend gebaar”, sometime in the first half of the 16th century. Beham was one of the German Little Masters, printmakers who made exquisitely detailed engravings. In this small print we see the infant Christ child. Typical of depictions of holy children, there's a halo emanating from the child’s head. He holds a globus cruciger, a symbol of worldly power, in his left hand. With his right hand, he offers a gesture of blessing. While Beham adheres to some traditional representations, the baby’s features are rendered in a somewhat grotesque manner. The baby's head is too large for his body and he has strangely aged features. As we look at this image, it is hard to look away from the unusual facial features and ponder what was in Beham’s imagination as he created this print.