The Marriage of St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary

Painting

Frances M. Maguire Art Museum

The Marriage of St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary by Juan Rodriguez Juarez

Name/Title

The Marriage of St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary

Entry/Object ID

2004.11

Description

Oil on canvas depicting the Marriage of St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary by Juan Rodriguez Juarez. This large, lunette-shaped painting was part of a series originally located in the former Jesuit College of St. Francis Xavier in Tepotzotlán, Mexico. It celebrates the holy marriage of Joseph and Mary, a popular subject throughout colonial Spanish America, where missionaries promoted Christian marital and family values to Indigenous populations. Surrounded by cherubs and angels dressed in jewel-like colors, a youthful Joseph and radiant Mary join their hands as the high priest blesses their union. According to Jacobus de Voragine’s Golden Legend (ca. 1260), God demonstrated his choice of Joseph as Mary’s husband when his rod blossomed and a dove descended. Both the flowering rod and the dove can be seen here prominently along the central axis of the composition. Esta pintura de gran tamaño y en forma de medialuna, formaba parte de una serie originalmente ubicada en el antiguo Colegio Jesuita de San Francisco Javier en Tepotzotlán, México. En la obra se celebra el santo matrimonio entre José y María. Un tema recurrente en la América Virreinal con el que la Iglesia Católica promovía los valores cristianos del matrimonio y la familia en la población indígena. Flanqueados por querubines y ángeles ataviados con ropajes brillantes, un joven José y una radiante María unen sus manos mientras el sumo sacerdote bendice su unión. Según La leyenda dorada de Jacobo de Vorágine (circa 1260) la vara florida y la presencia de una paloma son indicativos divinos de que José es la pareja elegida para María. Estos dos elementos tienen prominencia en el eje central de la composición.

Artwork Details

Medium

Oil

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Juan Rodriguez Juarez

Role

Artist

Date made

1701

Time Period

18th Century

Notes

Tepotzotlan, Mexico. Attribution confirmed by Clara Bargellini, Mexico.

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Canvas

Height

70 in

Dimension Description

Frame

Height

86 in

Width

132 in