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Guido Reni, Saint Joseph with the Infant Jesus Italian, 1620s St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum |
The image of Saint Joseph has had a curious history, reflecting the attitude to Joseph as it has developed through time. Today we tend to think of him as the supportive companion of the Virgin Mary or as the strong, silent protector of the Infant Jesus or as the craftsman going quietly about his work. But all of these images are only a few centuries old, if that.
For most of the history of Christian art St. Joseph was either ignored or treated as a very minor background figure. Early depictions of the birth of Jesus don’t include him at all! And, since his appearances in the New Testament end with the episode of the Finding of Jesus in the Temple at the age of twelve, that (as a background figure at the Nativity) was pretty much the limit of inclusion for Joseph.
The Old Man
In early medieval images in both the East and the West Joseph, when he appears at all, is segregated from Mary and the Christ Child, even in Nativity images. Further, he is invariably shown not as a sturdy man in his prime, but as an old, indeed sometimes a very old. man.
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Guido da Siena, The Nativity Italian, c. 1270 Paris, Musée du Louvre In this thirteenth-century Italian Nativity scene, Joseph (shown seating at the extreme left at the bottom) has about the same level of importance as the midwives who bathe the Baby Jesus or the kneeling shepherd and his dog. |
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| Duccio, The Nativity Italian, c. 1308-1311 Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art
In this picture, by Duccio, Joseph has increased in size, a sure indicator that he is becoming a more important figure. So, he is now marginally more important than the midwives and the shepherds with their sheep and dog because he is bigger in size.
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Both of these aspects of Joseph’s iconography, his advanced age and his detachment, spring from the concern to protect both the divinity of Christ and the perpetual virginity of Mary. It was thought that a younger, more involved figure might raise questions about his role.1
By the later middle ages this was beginning to change. While still shown as an old man, Joseph began to take a more active role in the scenes of Jesus’ life. He is brought into the same space as Mary and Jesus. He begins to help at the birth, join Mary in adoration of the Child, welcome the Magi, take part in the Presentation in the Temple and to work.
By the later middle ages this was beginning to change. While still shown as an old man, Joseph began to take a more active role in the scenes of Jesus’ life. He is brought into the same space as Mary and Jesus. He begins to help at the birth, join Mary in adoration of the Child, welcome the Magi, take part in the Presentation in the Temple and to work.
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| Master of Flemalle, The Nativity Netherlandish, 1420 Dijon, Musée des Beaux-Arts |
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| Fra Filippo Lippi, The Adoration of the Shepherds Italian, c. 1455 Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi |
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| Jacques Daret, The Adoration of the Magi French, c. 1433-1435 Berlin, Gemäldegalerie der Staatliche Museen zu Berlin |
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| Jacques Daret, The Presentation of Jesus French, 1433-1435 Paris, Musée du Petit Palais |
Other scenes, taken from apocryphal stories of the life of Mary, began to appear, among them the story of his choice as Mary’s husband and the marriage ceremony itself. According to the stories, Mary had many eligible suitors. In order to ensure that the choice would fall to a truly good man, the Temple elders required all the suitors to bring a dry rod to the Temple. The rods were placed on the altar overnight. In the morning, only one had blossomed, the rod belonging to Joseph.
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| Giotto, Mary's Suitors Bring Their Rods to the Temple Italian, c. 1304-1306 Padua, Arena/Scrovegni Chapel |
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| Giotto, The Suitors Praying Over Their Rods Italian, c. 1304-1306 Padua, Arena/Scrovegni Chapel |
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| Giotto, The Marriage of Mary and Joseph Italian, c. 1304-1306 Padua, Arena/Scrovegni Chapel |
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| Fra Angelico, The Marriage of the Virgin Italian, c. 1431-1432 Florence, Museo di San Marco |
The Mousetrap
One of the most interesting images of Saint Joseph from the later middle ages/early Renaissance period appears on the right wing of the Annunciation triptych known as the Merode Altarpiece. |
| Workshop of Robert Campin (Master of Flemalle), Merode Altarpiece Netherlandish, c. 1427-1432 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters Collection |
This triptych, now in the Cloisters branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was painted by the Flemish artist Robert Campin and his workshop during the second quarter of the fifteenth century. The central panel shows the Annunciation taking place in a typical 15th-century town parlor. The right wing shows Joseph in his workshop. He is seated at a bench and table by the open window of his shop, surrounded by the implements of his trade.
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| Robert Campin and Workshop, Saint Joseph, the Mousetrap Detail of the Merode Altarpiece, Right Wing |
Some completed projects appear on his workbench and on display in the window of the shop. Most conspicuous among them are two mousetraps (one is on the table, the other on display in the open window). Scholars have identified the symbolic meaning of these mousetraps. They are “the devil’s mousetrap".2
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| Robert Campin and Workshop, Saint Joseph at his bench with completed mousetrap surrounded by tools and wood shavings Detail of the Merode Altarpiece, Right Wing |
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| Robert Campin and Workshop, Saint Joseph with completed mousetrap on display Detail of the Merode Altarpiece, Right Wing |
The idea of the mousetrap as a symbol for the Redemption is drawn from sermons of Saint Augustine – the Incarnation is God’s mousetrap to catch the devil. The devil wasn’t expecting the Messiah to come in the form of a human baby, especially one born into such humble surroundings. Further, Saint Joseph himself is a third mousetrap. His presence as the apparent father of Jesus confused the devil further. The devil anticipated contending with a different kind of Messiah, not the child of a humble carpenter. So, by inspiring the human death of Jesus the devil was himself destroyed.
Renaissance Developments
During the later Renaissance and into the Baroque period Joseph became more and more evident and involved. His age began to change as well. Although some artists continued to depict him as an older man many began to depict him as young and vigorous. Even those who chose to make him older never again made him as old as did the earlier images. |
| Michelangelo, Holy Family (Doni Tondo) Italian, c. 1506 Florence, Gallerie degli Uffizi |
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| Caravaggio, Rest on the Flight into Egypt Italian, c. 1596-1597 Rome, Galleria Doria-Pamphilji
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| Caesar van Everdingen, Holy Family Dutch, c. 1650 Utrecht, Museum Catherijneconvent
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The Foster Father
Artists also began to depict a closer relationship between Jesus and his foster father. They were more frequently seen in close connection to each other. Joseph now participates in family life. He carries and cares for the infant Jesus and teaches the boy Jesus. This theme seems to have been particularly attractive to seventeenth- and eighteenth-century artists.
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| Saint Joseph with the Christ Child Dutch, 17th Century Maastricht, Bonnefanten Museum |
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| Lucio Massari, La Madonna del Bucato Italian, c. 1620 Florence, Gallerie degli Uffizi |
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| Jose de Ribera, Saint Joseph and the Boy Jesus Spanish, c. 1630=1635 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
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George de la Tour, The Boy Jesus and Saint Joseph in the Carpenter's Shop French, 1642 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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| Sebastian Martinez, St. Joseph with the Christ Child Spanish, c. 1650 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado |
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| Juan Antonio Frias y Escalante, Saint Joseph and the Infant Christ Spanish, c. 1660-1665 Saint Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum |
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| Saint Joseph with the Infant Christ Latin American, 18th Century Auch, Musée des Ameriques |
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| Saint Joseph with the Boy Jesus Flemish, 18th Century Paris, Musee du Louvre, Département des Objets d'art du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes |
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| Saint Joseph with the Infant Jesus Dutch, 18th Century Maastricht, Bonnefantenmuseum |
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| Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, Saint Joseph with the Christ Child Italian, c. 1740 Private Collection |
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Nöel Hallé, Holy Family French, 1753 Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum |
The Two Trinities
Finally, with Mary and Jesus, he forms a sort of terrestrial trinity represented by the familiar formula: Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
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Bartolome Esteban Murillo, The Two Trinities Spanish, c. 1675-1682 London, National Gallery of Art |
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| Jacob de Wit, Holy Family and the Holy Trinity Dutch, 1726 Amsterdam, Amstelkring ("Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder" or "Our Dear Lord in the Attic)" Museum+ |
Saint Joseph and Recent Popes
In 1899, in the encyclical Quamquam pluries (“Although many times”) Pope Leo XIII urged all Catholics to give Joseph special honor during the month of March and especially on the 19th of March, his feast day.*
Further the phrase “Blessed be Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse" was added to the Divine Praises by Pope Benedict XV on February 23, 1921. Benedict XV also encouraged devotion to Saint Joseph in the Motu Proprio, Bonum Sane (It was a good thing), of July 25, 1920. *
In 1955 Pope Pius XII instituted an additional feast day for Saint Joseph, under the title of St. Joseph the Worker. It is celebrated on May 1, although it is frequently displaced by the Easter weekday.
In 2012 Pope Benedict XVI, whose baptismal name is Joseph, proclaimed Joseph as patron of the New Evangelization during the special Year of Faith celebrated that year.*
Similarly, Pope Francis, in an Apostolic Letter, Patris Corde ("With the Heart of a Father"), dated December 8, 2020, proclaimed the liturgical year 2021 to be a special year devoted to Saint Joseph during which Catholics will reflect on Joseph's life and qualities. The Pope noted that it has been 150 years since Pius IX proclaimed Saint Joseph as patron of the universal Church. He added that 2020, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, reminded us of the importance of those seemingly hidden lives that keep the world going. As he said "Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. "*
© M. Duffy, 2012, updated 2021, 2022 and 2023.
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1. A good summary of the history of images of St. Joseph is found at http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=4464&CFID=126000758&CFTOKEN=56733566
2. Meyer Schapiro, "Muscipula Diaboli," The Symbolism of the Mérode Altarpiece, The Art Bulletin, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Sep., 1945), pp. 182-187. http://reserves.fcla.edu/rsv/NC/010014478-1.pdf
Also see: Margaret B. Freeman, “The Iconography of the Merode Altarpiece”, Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 16, no. 4, December 1957, pp. 130-139.
© M. Duffy, 2012, updated 2021, 2022 and 2023.
___________________________________________
1. A good summary of the history of images of St. Joseph is found at http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=4464&CFID=126000758&CFTOKEN=56733566
2. Meyer Schapiro, "Muscipula Diaboli," The Symbolism of the Mérode Altarpiece, The Art Bulletin, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Sep., 1945), pp. 182-187. http://reserves.fcla.edu/rsv/NC/010014478-1.pdf
Also see: Margaret B. Freeman, “The Iconography of the Merode Altarpiece”, Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 16, no. 4, December 1957, pp. 130-139.
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