In an effort to bring the veneration of the Holy Infant to the faithful, an increasing number of Holy Infant figurines were placed on altars: at Christmas time, Holy Infants were displayed in cribs set up in convent churches. The number of figurines of the Holy Infant increased with the onset of the Renaissance. Initially made of wood and painted, these figurines were later cast in bronze and wax, carved in ivory or made from porcelain, papier-mâché or tight bundles of fabric. The center of figurine production moved from the Netherlands to Italy, Spain and Portugal, where most of the smaller and larger figurines still come from today. 

In Italy, the most famous statue is the "Bambino di Aracoeli", which is worshipped in the church of the same name in Rome and represents the child Jesus as a swaddled Holy Infant, who is not lying down, but standing. It is made of wood.