The Holy Family with Saint Joseph Holding the Rose

This small-scale drawing on blue paper by Bartholomeus Spranger shows the Holy Family. In the foreground, the Christ Child nibbles on an apple, while the Virgin Mary lovingly gazes at him. St. Joseph, with a rose in his left hand, also fixes his gaze on the baby, but unlike Mary, he appears concerned. After planning the composition in black chalk on a sheet of blue paper, Spranger rendered the forms in pen and ink and modeled them in brown wash and white heightening. He evidently changed his mind regarding the position of St. Joseph’s left hand. Originally, it was shown held out straight with a flower pinched between two fingers. Unhappy with the detail, he covered it up with white heightening and redrew the arm slightly bent. Characteristic of the artist’s Mannerist style, the figures, in particular the Christ Child, are overly muscular, and their hands are elegant with long elongated fingers. The drawing is preparatory for an engraving attributed to Pieter de Jode. The composition of the print, which identifies Spranger as the inventor of the image, is in reverse to that of the drawing; it probably was intended for devotional purposes.