Saint Joseph with the Flowering Rod
Jusepe de Ribera
European Art
On View:
Called “Lo Spagnoletto” (the little Spaniard) by his Italian clientele, the Spanish-born and trained Ribera made his career in Naples, where his major patron, the Duke of Osuna, served as viceroy to the Spanish Bourbon rulers of southern Italy. Following a Spanish tradition initiated by the famed painter El Greco (1541–1614), Ribera painted individual portraits of Christ’s intimates, including his father Saint Joseph and his disciples. According to apocryphal sources, suitors for the Virgin Mary’s hand were to present rods to the high priest of the Temple. When Joseph’s rod bloomed, he was identified as her betrothed. Ribera conveys the unexpected wonder of the moment with the lighting from above and the aged Joseph’s questioning hand gesture.
MEDIUM
Oil on panel
DATES
early 1630s
DIMENSIONS
46 × 35 3/4 in. (116.8 × 90.8 cm)
frame: 57 1/4 × 47 1/4 × 3 1/2 in. (145.4 × 120 × 8.9 cm) (show scale)
SIGNATURE
Signed bottom center: "Jusepe Ribera/F"
COLLECTIONS
European Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
11.563
CREDIT LINE
Gift of George D. Pratt
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Jusepe de Ribera (Spanish, 1591–1652). Saint Joseph with the Flowering Rod, early 1630s. Oil on panel, 46 × 35 3/4 in. (116.8 × 90.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of George D. Pratt, 11.563 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 11.563.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 11.563.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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