The Secret Behind Ugly Medieval Babies
There’s no nice way to put it: in medieval art, babies were pretty damn ugly.
But why?
It’s not because artists hadn’t worked out how to paint them properly – in fact, this was a deliberate stylistic choice… In medieval artwork, one baby popped up a whole lot more than the others: Jesus Christ.
There was a popular notion that Jesus was born “perfectly formed” and remained “unchanged” over time; this led to artists depicting him as a sort of weird little old man – and influenced portrayals of other babies too!
This all changed with the dawn of the Renaissance, and a new emphasis on realism in art.
Plus, as artists began to embrace non-religious subjects, wealthy patrons could commission portraits of their own families – and they didn’t want their own children looking like little old men!
So, ugly babies were out and cute babies were in. Way less disturbing, but nowhere near as fun…
Non-Finito: The Art of Incompleteness
Here are a few of our favorites... Enjoy!
"Salvator Mundi” (1505) by Albrecht Dürer / Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
“Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist” (1528-1537) by Perino Del Vaga / Courtauld Gallery in London
“Take your Son, Sir!” (1851–56) by Ford Madox Brown / Tate Britain in London
“Study of Mme Gautreau” (1884) by John Singer Sargent / Tate Britain in London
“The Entombment” (c. 1500–1501) by Michelangelo / National Gallery in London
We Got a Webby Nomination! 🎉
Big news: MuseMuse just got nominated for a Webby Award for Best Art & Culture App—aka the Oscars of the Internet. Among 13,000 entries, we made it into the top 12%.
But here’s the thing: we need your vote. Webby winners are decided by a very official jury of… the internet. That’s you. Your friends. Your barista. Every vote counts.
🗳️ Vote here → vote.webbyawards.com
Deadline to vote: April 18th.
In the meantime, we’ll keep doing what we do best: helping you explore the world through art.
So thank you art lovers! And thank you to everyone who’s ever wanted more from a museum visit and thought, “There has to be a better way.” There is. It’s called MuseMuse. And apparently, it’s Webby-worthy!
Cheers - MuseMuse
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