Object Record
Images
Metadata
Artist |
Unknown Artist |
Title |
Saint Joseph with the Christ Child |
Date |
1875-1900 |
Medium |
oil on canvas |
Place of Origin |
Mexico |
Culture |
Mexican |
Object ID |
1979.55 |
Collection |
Spanish to Post-Colonial Art |
Object Name |
Painting |
Credit line |
Gift from the estate of Joan and Gil Procter, Sr.; Pete Kitchen Ranch Museum |
Didactic Information |
Joseph was the father of Christ. In retablos he is almost always shown with Christ and sometimes with Mary as the Holy Family. He wears green robe and orange or yellow mantle, symbolizing new life, marriage and fertility. In these depictions he holds his son and gazes affectionately toward him. His most notable attribute is the flowering staff, or a stalk of lilies. The Apocrypha tell the story that all eligible suitors were called forth to plant their staffs in the courtyard at the home of Mary. The next morning, Joseph's had bloomed. |