Lot 251: Saint Joseph and the Christ Child

Nicolás Enríquez (Mexican, active 1720s-1770s)
Saint Joseph and the Christ Child
oil on canvas laid on masonite
31½ x 23½
Painted ca. 1726.

Mr. and Mrs. John Bunker.
The Denver Art Museum, Denver.
The Denver Art Museum Auction, Christie's, Denver, September 17, 1995, Lot 198.
Private collection, San Juan.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.

PROPERTY FROM LA COLECCIÓN PEREGRINA VIRREINAL, FUNDACIÓN ARTE SACRO ANTONIO ROIG-FERRÉ, SAN JUAN

One of the most popular subjects in the history of Western art is the Holy Family. The list of great European and Latin American masters who have interpreted the subject is filled with names like Giovanni Bellini, El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens, and Gregorio Vázquez. Devotion to Saint Joseph began around the 9th century when the saintly carpenter who was the putative father of Christ, became a cult figure. In the Gospels, we are told he is from the town of Nazareth and although he is a humble man, his lineage like the Virgin Mary's, is from the House of David. He is often depicted in his workshop surrounded by his tools, and often with the child Jesus who like him, became a carpenter. Other depictions, such as this one, portray him with a flowering staff holding the Holy Child in veneration but with fatherly tenderness. This remarkable portrayal of the saint is a sublime composition of perfect balance and painterly virtuosity as both the saint and figure of the Holy Child transcend their godliness and become human. In Joseph, we find a symbol of humanity and kindness.