Catholic Baptism Gifts
A picture given at a baptism is one of the few gifts a child keeps into adulthood. These are paintings that have hung over Catholic cradles for generations — guardian angels, the Christ Child, the Virgin with her son — chosen to suit a nursery now and a grown-up’s wall later.
Baptisms happen all year, usually within the first few months of life. Each print is made to order: allow about two and a half weeks for delivery.
Guardian Angel
Bernhard Plockhorst
The picture most often hung over a Catholic child’s bed: an angel keeping two small children safe on a path at the edge of a drop.
From $31.52
Let the Children Come unto Me
Carl Bloch
“Let the children come to me” — Christ gathering the children his disciples tried to send away, painted by Carl Bloch in 1884.
From $96.36
Christ Blessing the Children
Nicolaes Maes
The same Gospel scene by Nicolaes Maes, a pupil of Rembrandt, with a crowd of mothers bringing their children to be blessed.
From $32.98
The Newborn
Georges de La Tour
A young mother, a swaddled infant and a candle shielded by a hand: a Nativity painted as any family’s first night with a new baby.
From $31.52
Song of the Angels
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Angels playing to the Virgin and the sleeping Christ Child — a lullaby in paint, and gentle enough for a nursery.
From $32.98
The Small Cowper Madonna
Raphael
Raphael at his tenderest: the Child with an arm around his mother’s neck, in an Umbrian landscape.
From $32.98
The Alba Madonna
Raphael
Raphael’s round Madonna, the infant John offering the Child a small cross — the reason a baptism happens at all, shown in miniature.
From $33.26
Madonna and Child
Giovanni Bellini
Bellini painted the Madonna and Child again and again; this is one of his quiet, close devotional panels, made to hang in a home.
From $31.52
The Virgin with Angels
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Mary enthroned with the Child inside a ring of angels — the Queen of Angels, for a child being given into their care.
From $44.13
Saint Gerard Majella
Catholic Art Studio
The patron saint of mothers and childbirth, for the new mother as much as the baby.
From $33.26
Saint Anne
Catholic Art Studio
Mary’s mother, patron of grandmothers — a baptism gift from grandparents, or for them.
From $33.26
Choosing art for a baptism
The traditional baptism gifts — a cross, a rosary, a children’s Bible — are good ones, but most of them end up in a drawer. A picture stays on a wall, and it is often the first religious image a child can remember. That argues for two things: a subject a small child can understand (a mother and baby, an angel, children with Christ), and a painting good enough that the adult they become will want to keep it.
Size matters more than it seems. A nursery wall is usually over a cot or a changing table, where a 12 × 16 or 16 × 20 print sits comfortably; a larger canvas suits a family room, where the gift is really to the parents. Framed prints travel from nursery to bedroom to first home without looking like they belong to a child.
Questions
What is a traditional Catholic baptism gift?
Godparents traditionally give something that lasts and points to the faith: a crucifix, a rosary, a children’s Bible or a religious image for the child’s room. A guardian angel picture is one of the oldest of these customs.
Who gives the baptism gift?
Usually the godparents, though grandparents and family friends often give one too. There is no rule about amount; what matters is that it will be kept.
What size print is best for a nursery?
A 12 × 16 or 16 × 20 inch print suits most nursery walls, above a cot or a dresser. Go larger if the picture is meant for a family room.
How long does delivery take?
Every print is made to order: three to five business days to produce, then five to ten to deliver within the United States.