Spanish school; 19th century

Spanish school; 19th century.
"The Holy Family".
Wood, fabric and glass
Measurements: 39 cm (Virgin); 22 cm (Saint Joseph), 20 cm (Child); 53 x 39 x 23 cm (urn).
Sculptural group in which the Holy Family is represented inscribed in a leafy foliage. The Virgin rests seated while looking at her son, who is placed on a promontory in the landscape, so that his figure is not only in the centre but also slightly elevated. The composition is completed by the image of Saint Joseph in the background, as is customary. All the sculptures, modelled in terracotta, have a lively polychromy that harmonises with the quality of the clothing of each of them, which, being fabric, lends veracity to the scene as well as dynamism and movement. The representation and model of the Holy Family has served as an image that reinforces family portraiture and the moral representation of the Christian family. The different variants that have come down to us from the history of art have been due to the political and religious needs of the time. In the Italian Renaissance period for art, but late medieval for society, the iconography of the Holy Family was predominantly based on the Virgin, Child and Saint Anne, especially in Tuscany, as the mother of the Virgin was the patron saint of the city of Florence. Although the figure of Saint Joseph is not usually depicted in the iconography of this theme, or if he is, it is in a more restrained and almost secondary manner, it was during the 17th century that his figure as the Child's earthly father became more prominent in scenes in which his paternal and protective role was more palpable and even, on occasions, the protagonist. This is due to the way in which the Church has thought of him throughout history, whose interest in the figure of Saint Joseph was reconsidered as new beliefs were reworked, adding to this the development of bourgeois society.