Saint Joseph with the Sleeping Christ Child

This painting forms part of the collection of loans from the Prado Museum (Museo Nacional del Prado), known as the disperse Prado. Thanks to Valentín Carderera's intervention, 13 canvases (now 12) were loaned to Huesca Museum in 1879. They originally came from the Spanish government's seizure of church property in the desamortización, or Spanish confiscation, in the late 19th century, becoming part of the collection at the Museum of the Trinity (Museo de la Trinidad). Saint Joseph is shown standing with the Infant Jesus sleeping in his arms. There is a group of cherubs carrying roses at the top of the canvas. The infant John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, appears in the foreground on the right with the little lamb symbolizing the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God). There is also a cane cross with a scroll wrapped around it that reads, "ECC[E] [AGNU]S DEI …" (Behold the Lamb of God…). Behind him there is a shelf with a still life of fruits and pottery, an artistic genre that really developed during the Baroque period. To the left is a carpenter's workbench with several tools on it. Other tools lie on the floor, and on the shelves on the back wall, creating a wonderful depiction of a carpenter's workshop. The artist Angelo Nardi da Razzo's composition is well balanced. The figures are very naturalistic and it is full of descriptive details. The predominant colors are ochres, browns, pinks, and yellows, and the sharp contrast between the areas of light and shadow demonstrate his knowledge of Caravaggio's work. This piece may have been created for the altar of a Carmelite convent in Madrid. Use of Saint Joseph's image in iconography started to become popular around the end of the 16th century. He was not usually depicted before this, except in family scenes. It was at this time, and thanks to the devotion professed by Saint Teresa's Discalced Carmelites, that he became a central figure of devotion and the use of his image spread rapidly. He was often shown holding the Christ Child in his arms or by the hand, and was always accompanied by the attributes of his profession as a carpenter.