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Premium Novohispanic School. Mexico. 17th century.
Novohispanic School. Mexico. 17th century.
Lot no. 65
Description
Novohispanic School. Mexico. 17th century.
'The Death of Saint Joseph'
Oil on copper with slight gold highlights.
34,5 x 26,5 cm.
On the reverse, it bears the number 3. Our piece may have been part of a series of coppers depicting the life of Saint Joseph.
In a crowded space filled with figures, arranged like an artistic patchwork, we see different separate paintings cut out and assembled to form a single image: Saint Joseph in bed, Jesus seated, blessing him and offering comfort, Mary as the Sorrowful Stabat Mater on the right, an angel with a candle on the left, and at the top, God the Father surrounded by angels and clouds.
Even the still lifes within the composition form part of this patchwork: the one on the left, atop a side table, with a spouted jug, bowl, and plate, the slippers left behind and overlapping the embroidered and pierced bed covers, and the still life of angels on the right, weeping as if they too formed another devotional tableau.
This is a purely devotional and tender painting that offers an artistic representation of the death of Saint Joseph, often known as the Transit of Saint Joseph, showing the saint on his deathbed surrounded by the two loves of his life, the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ.
The scene is inspired by apocryphal texts, not canonical biblical ones, and symbolizes the good death or happy death, witnessed by the angels and by the dove of the Holy Spirit, surrounded by divine light, all present to guide his soul to heaven.
Most biblical scholars believe that Saint Joseph died before the crucifixion of Jesus. This is supported by the fact that Christ’s putative father was not present beneath the cross at the moment of Jesus’s death, and that Jesus entrusted Mary to the Apostle Saint John so that he might take her into his home. Had Saint Joseph still been alive, this would not have been necessary.
Other information, more legendary than historical, comes from the apocryphal History of Joseph the Carpenter from the sixth century. According to this text, Joseph lived to the age of 111 and then, struck by illness, died in the arms of his loved ones, Mary and Jesus.
The death of Saint Joseph is also recounted by the Venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda, a Spanish mystic who wrote about this episode.
The scene represented in this work has a clear emotional intention, which the artist fully achieves. By presenting Saint Joseph on his deathbed, the painter inspires the faithful to pray for a peaceful and dignified death and to commend themselves to the saint.
In periods when death held significant weight in society and religion, the image of Saint Joseph became a source of hope to teach and channel this crucial moment in the Christian life.
Provenance:
- Private collection. Barcelona. From mid 20th century.
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