Saint Joseph and the Sleeping Christ Child
1670/75
Medium
Pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash, over black chalk, on ivory laid paper, laid down on beige wove card
Dimensions
Primary support: 16.4 × 13.6 cm (6 1/2 × 5 3/8 in.); Secondary support: 17.9 × 15.3 cm (7 1/16 × 6 1/16 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
148802
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
A rare but poignant scene of fatherhood, this sheet depicts the rough and bearded Joseph looking helplessly down at the sleeping, recumbent form of the Christ child; his thoughts could be dwelling on how he will be unable to protect his son from the sacrifice he would have to make. Saint Joseph was especially popular in 17th-century Counter-Reformation Spain, as he was reputed to have helped heal Saint Teresa of Ávila’s paralysis. This tender picture is one of only about 70 known autograph drawi...