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As one of many pictures in the Wellcome Library showing childbirth, this is a mystery picture. The composition exists in many versions – in the Louvre, in the Prince of Hanover's collection and elsewhere – attesting its great popularity, but the exact subject is unknown. It is traditionally identified as the birth of John the Baptist, but that was probably not the original intention, as John's father Zachariah is not shown. The absence of halos also seems to rule out the birth of the Virgin as the subject. The room is a lavish hall in a palace with marble floors, coffered ceilings, and a four-poster bed supported by carved and gilded caryatids. The mother is being offered a bowl of gruel to build up her strength while the baby is being bathed and the swaddling clothes are warmed before the fire.
Title
The Birth of a Baby
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 54.6 x W 79 cm
Accession number
44695i
Acquisition method
presumed to have been purchased by Henry S. Wellcome, c.1900–1936
Work type
Painting
