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Saint Joseph
Moretto da Bresciaabout 1540
The National Gallery, London
London, United Kingdom
Saint Joseph was on the inside face of a shutter, probably from a triptych. It was on the reverse of 'An Angel' and would have been on the left of the missing central image of the Virgin Mary, when the triptych was open. The opposite wing, also in the collection, shows 'Saint Jerome' with 'An Angel' on the reverse.
Joseph holds the staff which miraculously broke into blossom demonstrating that he (among the Virgin Mary's many suitors) was chosen to be her husband.
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Details
- Title: Saint Joseph
- Creator: Moretto da Brescia
- Date Created: about 1540
- Physical Dimensions: 153.6 x 54.1 cm
- Type: Painting
- Medium: Oil on wood
- School: Italian (Bergamo)
- More Info: Explore the National Gallery’s paintings online
- Inventory number: NG2092
- Artist Dates: about 1498 - 1554
- Artist Biography: Alessandro Bonvicino (called Moretto) was, with Romanino, the leading painter of Brescia in the early 16th century, when the town became part of the Venetian empire. Moretto's work was strongly influenced by Giorgione and Titian, and he may have trained in Titian's studio, though he retained much of the naturalism associated with painting in Lombardy in the 16th century. The majority of Moretto's paintings are large-scale canvases painted for religious foundations in and around Brescia. Portraits by him are rarer, though he excelled in portraiture, passing on his skills to his most famous pupil, Moroni.
- Acquisition Credit: Bequeathed by the Misses Cohen as part of the John Samuel collection, 1906
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