marilyn aronberg lavin - giovannino battista a study in renaissance religious symbolism
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THE figure of the Infant St. John became such a commonplace in fifteenth century art that it has rarely been thought to question whether or not there are specific sources for its appearance. Yet the problem acquires particular interest and importance when it is realized that the saint was almost never shown in this form before the Italian Renaissance. At that time the aged hermit of tradition was transformed into a child as young even as the Infant Christ with whom he was so frequently portrayed. Generally it has been believed that the numerous domestic scenes bearing such titles as Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John, or Holy Family with the Infant St. John, were simply manifestations of Renaissance naturalism, and that the reduction in John's age was merely a result of Florentine interest in the graces of childhood.1 However, art historical experience amply demonstrates that Renaissance artists were not in the habit of introducing new representational forms casually and without basis in tradition. Consequently, the hypothesis of naturalism, adequate or not as a definition of the phenomenon's cause, is certainly unsatisfactory as a description of its source. Since this perhaps more than any other single religious subject typifies the period, our ignorance of its real meaning and origin constitutes a major gap in our knowledge of Renaissance iconography.