A work of art to illustrate yesterday's feast. Apologies for the lateness - although received, it slipped my mind to post it (Fr Richard)
Joan de Joanes (known also as Vicente Juan Masip, Valence, Spain, 1507-1579), Saint Joseph and the Christ child in the carpenter’s workshop, oil on wood, 31 x 26 cm, Berlin, Staatliche Museen
If it were not for the halos which crown the heads of the carpenter and his young apprentice, this small painting could be classified as a genre painting, a representation of everyday life. Young and slim, Joseph conscientiously handles the plane while Jesus learns to use an auger. It is an obvious allusion to His death on a wooden cross, His hands pierced with nails. But the background with the boards already prepared, the saw, the square as well as the adze placed on the table underline Joseph’s knowledge of the trade and the success of his business.
The devotion to Saint Joseph took on great importance in Spain from the 16th century, promoted in particular by Teresa de Avila. An exemplary husband and father, he was also an exemplary worker, a model for the craftsmen, who were so numerous at that time (the peasants also had their saint, St Isidore the farmer). Through its praise of St. Joseph, this painting is a glorification of manual work, well done, by the sweat of his body, of apprenticeship and family knowledge transmission.
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