Saint Joseph and the Boy Jesus (San José y el Niño Jesús)

A painting from San Vicente Ferrer School (Colegio de San Vicente Ferrer), which the Dominicans founded in Zaragoza. The saint carries the flowering rod that alludes to his victory over other would-be suitors of the Virgin Mary. Both he and the child are walking, and their robes accentuate this movement. At the top, the heavens have opened. God the Father holds the globe in one hand and points to the child with the other, above whom we see a dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit. The canvas is well crafted. Despite abandoning compositional rigidity, it still lacks the sense of movement that would feature in the artist's later work.