Saint Joseph with Jesus

Saint Joseph with Jesus

Artist
unknown artist
Country
Mexico
Object
figure
Medium
Paint and gold leaf on alabaster
Accession Number
2015.546
Credit Line
Gift of the Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer

Unknown artist, Saint Joseph with Jesus, 1700s. Paint and gold leaf on alabaster; 18 × 10⅜ × 7¾ in. Gift of the Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer, 2015.546.

Dimensions
height: 18 in, 45.7200 cm; width: 10.375 in, 26.3525 cm; depth: 7.75 in, 19.6850 cm
Department
Mayer Center, Latin American Art
Collection
Latin American Art
This object is currently on view

Sculpted images were carved in alabaster by all major cultures of pre-Hispanic Mexico. In Spain, images were also carved in alabaster. In the Americas, the two traditions merged during the colonial period and statues of saints were carved from the local alabasters, known as tecali in Mexico and as huamanga stone in Peru. In the Americas, alabaster carvings were also influenced by the large quantities of ivories arriving from Asia on the Manila Galleon.

This polychromed tecali sculpture shows the Christ Child walking hand in hand with his earthly father, St. Joseph, atop a platform adorned with angels. Devotion to St. Joseph increased during the 1600s and 1700s, partially influenced by Teresa of Ávila and the Carmelite institutions she founded. The Franciscans also promoted Joseph in Mexico, where he was eventually declared patron saint in 1555.

– revised by Kathryn Santner, Frederick and Jan Mayer Fellow of Spanish Colonial Art, 2023

Known Provenance
Gifted 23 November 2015 by the Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer of Denver, CO to the Denver Art Museum. Provenance research is on-going at the Denver Art Museum. Please e-mail provenance@denverartmuseum.org, if you have questions, or if you have additional information to share with us.
Exhibition History
  • Exotic Cargo, 2002-present, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO.