Feast of St. Joseph
March 19th is the Feast of St. Joseph, the earthly father and foster father of Jesus Christ, and the husband of the Virgin Mary. A humble carpenter by trade, Joseph is a key figure in the Nativity story, demonstrating unwavering faith and obedience to God's will. Joseph was visited by an angel in a dream and instructed to take Mary as his wife, despite her miraculous pregnancy. He later guided his family to Egypt to escape King Herod's decree to kill all male infants in Bethlehem, ensuring the safety of the young Jesus.
The Canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark. Luke & John) do not mention anything specific about Joseph's age. However, another text written in the second century, the Protoevangelium of James gives a different account of how Joseph and Mary came to be married. In this account, Joseph is an elderly widower. Despite not being canon, this account was included in a popular book in the 13th century named The Golden Legend. This book depicted the lives of many saints and greatly influenced the iconography used by artists. Most depictions of Joseph before and well into the Baroque period depicted Joseph as old and frail.
One of the main themes of the Church Counterreformation efforts was to change the iconography of art to represent more realistic and relatable depictions of saints. This influenced many Baroque painters to depict Joseph as a strong, vigorous carpenter. I think this makes it much easier for biological fathers, stepfathers and foster fathers to find inspiration in Joseph's strength.
Saint Joseph and the Christ Child (c1630) by Ribera shows a solemn Joseph and young Jesus in a moment of inspiration. Joseph holds his staff with Lilies to represent the purity of his relationship with Mary and Jesus holds a basket of Carpenter's tools.
The Holy Family with a Little Bird(1650) by Murillo shows an "everyday" scene of the Holy Family, where Mary is spinning some thread and baby Jesus holds a bird above a puppy with Joseph watching over him.
Both works are housed at the Prado.
