Much of the content they longed for were illustrations of biblical babies from Moses to John the Baptist, and of course, the holiest of babies to them: Jesus Christ himself. In turn, this is why many paintings of the medieval period look so similar– they kept up with this churchy aesthetic. In addition, the value of art at the time did not depend on freedom of expression; rather conceptuality was prioritized. Like an overly passionate middle school art teacher, the medieval era encouraged its artists to be free-flowing no matter the “artistic” cost.
Cimabué
Later on, citizens of the Renaissance were getting rich quick and could afford to commission artists for personal use, such as painting portraits of their children, with the goal of having their kids, according to The Collector, “look like children and not have the face of their grandparents.” And a very level-headed ask, at that.
Raphael
Iconography also had something to do with it. For instance, a dove in Christian art is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, while Baby Jesus and Mary are often representative of knowledge, salvation, love, and insight. Though Mary looks pretty disengaged.
Raphael