Saint Joseph and the Christ Child
Cuzco School
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
A number of paintings of favorite saints sometimes decorated a bedroom. (The 1784 inventory of Manuel Herrera in Oruro, in present-day Bolivia, lists more than fifty religious paintings in the alcoba.) This Cuzco school image of Saint Joseph, who also served as the patron saint of the Good Death, would have been an apt work for a bedchamber, where it would have watched over evening prayer and sleep. Images of Saint Joseph came into vogue in ecclesiastical and domestic contexts throughout the empire after 1679, when King Charles II named him the patron saint of the Spanish monarchy.
Caption
Cuzco School. Saint Joseph and the Christ Child, late 17th–18th century. Oil on canvas, 43 x 32 1/8in. (109.2 x 81.6cm) frame: 45 11/16 x 35 1/16 x 2 1/2 in. (116 x 89.1 x 6.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1941, Frank L. Babbott Fund, 41.1275.191. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Saint Joseph and the Christ Child
Date
late 17th–18th century
Geography
Place made: Peru
Medium
Oil on canvas
Classification
Dimensions
43 x 32 1/8in. (109.2 x 81.6cm) frame: 45 11/16 x 35 1/16 x 2 1/2 in. (116 x 89.1 x 6.4 cm)
Credit Line
Museum Expedition 1941, Frank L. Babbott Fund
Accession Number
41.1275.191
Frequent Art Questions
What is the significance of the lily?
The lily typically represents purity in Christian art. It's usually associated more with the Virgin Mary so I'm wondering whether it's functioning as a "stand-in" for her here. Mary is Christ's mother, and Joseph is her husband who raises Jesus on earth. So this is like a family portrait.
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