Saint Joseph – 1 May – Saint Of The Day In Art

Many of symbolic images to depict St Joseph and to make him recognizable are taken from the Gospel of Mathew. The reason for this is that John and Marc don’t mention Joseph at all, and in the Gospel of Luke he is mentioned only by name in the genealogy of Jesus and at the account of Jesus’ birth.

Joseph is often seen in the scenes of Nativity where he is usually depicted behind Mary and he is holding a rod with a lily on the top end of the rod or sometimes a dove. In later paintings and often in contemporary sacred art the rod is transformed into a lily stem and used as an attribute of a saint.

The lily is a symbol of chastity and is referring to Mary’s virginity throughout her earthly life.

Interesting are the age-related changes in Joseph’s face. During the Renaissance (16th century) he usually was an old man, bold and greying. By the end of 16th century Joseph got a bit younger in paintings.

To keep Joseph young in visual arts was important just because he, as Mary’s husband, had to be supportive for her eternal virginity. So, if Mary remains virgin then Joseph at least has to remain young.

Symbolism of St Joseph in visual arts: Christ Child, white lily, rod, plane, carpentry square, often brown robe and/or mantle, holding a rod 

Saint Joseph is one of the most painted figures in sacred art and in art with a religious subject. Yes, there is an amazingly large number of paintings depicting Saint Joseph. It would impossible to list them all here. However, here are some paintings that lately struck me the most (one of these paintings is by an artist I met while my first year at the Sacred Art School in Florence – her name is Christina Van Hecke, and one painting – by my painting professor Nacho Valdés). Old masters, contemporary and ultra-contemporary artists who create sacred art: 

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