The subject derives from the Franciscan 'Meditationes Vitae Christi' (IX). The Infant Christ shows his mother a scroll referring to himself as ‘The Lamb of God’. Lambs were often used to convey ideas of innocence, gentleness, patience and humility: attributes traditionally associated with Christ himself. The lamb was also a sacrificial beast, and the animal on the right of the painting foretells the Passion of Christ and the Martyrdom of Saint John. The Infant Baptist’s cruciform staff reinforces the pathos of this central message. Dateable c.1670, the picture hung in the sacristy of the Capilla de la Antigua in the cathedral of Seville, until 1810. Despite the attempts of the chapter of the cathedral to conceal it, it was removed by Marshal Soult during the Napoleonic invasion.