Saint Joseph and the Infant Christ, c. 1670-85
Oil on canvas
Norton Simon Museum of Art, Pasadena, Calif.
Those of you who are exceptionally good at remembering exceptionally unimportant things will recall that back in December, I said there were two works of art from the state of California I was interested in using for my Advent art project, and that I would the second of them for an Art on Sunday post in March. That Sunday in March has arrived. Why now? Because this is the Sunday closest to March 19, which on the Roman Catholic calendar is the Feast of St. Joseph.
I like this painting for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it's one of the very few paintings I've ever seen that shows Joseph and the infant Christ but not the Virgin Mary. Also, I just love the expression on Joseph's face. It's just the kind of goofy smile you'd expect to see from a new father looking at his son.
