Jesus' first steps

Luisa Roldan - The first steps of Jesus

I recently came across a beautiful and touching sculpture entitled Los Primeros pasos de Jesus, The first steps of Jesus. In a darkened corner of the Prado Museum in Spain, a depiction of the toddler Jesus that is remarkable in its poignancy, its humanity and its history. It shows the domestic rather than divine and shows a chubby, beaming infant ambling towards his equally beaming father. Its creator was the Spanish baroque artist Luisa Roldán who, despite becoming the first female sculptor to the royal court in 1692, is only now making her debut in the hallowed Madrid museum. The colored sculpture shows a scene reminiscent of many households when a year-old toddler makes his first steps, a massive achievement for any child and parent. With two angels giving thanks for this great milestone, Mary holds the infant Jesus with a cloth around his chest and below his arms, as he reaches towards his beaming father, waiting for approval.