Spanish school; 17th century

Spanish school; 17th century.
"Holy Family with Saint Anne".
Oil on copper.
Presents a carved wooden frame.
Measurements: 17 x 14 cm; 32 x 29 cm (frame).
In this work the artist has made the representation of the Holy Family, following the sweet modes of the time. Through the use of a pyramidal composition in which all the characters are inscribed, the author gives greater prominence to the figure of the Child. The Child is placed in the centre of the composition, and next to him is a mature Saint Joseph, who contemplates his son, absorbed in the scene that is taking place between the Virgin and Child. Saint Anne, who is at Saint Joseph's side, tenderly approaches the Child, who coos to her with complicity. The family is in a neutral interior, which is highlighted by the luminosity brought by the radiance of the Holy Spirit. The naturalness of the scene should be emphasised, as the Child turns his attention to his grandmother, or for example to the hands of Saint Joseph. This approachable attitude is used by the author to inspire and indoctrinate the spectator, thus making him empathise with religion through a scene of a friendly nature.
In the most common sense of the expression, the Holy Family includes the closest relatives of the Child Jesus, i.e. mother and grandmother or mother and nurturing father. In both cases, whether it is Saint Anne or Saint Joseph who appears, it is a group of three figures. From an artistic point of view, the arrangement of this terrestrial Trinity poses the same problems and suggests the same solutions as the heavenly Trinity. However, the difficulties are fewer. It is no longer a question of a single God in three persons, whose essential unity must be expressed at the same time as his diversity. The three personages are united by a bond of blood, certainly, but they do not constitute an indivisible block. Moreover, all three are represented in human form, while the dove of the Holy Spirit introduces a zoomorphic element into the divine Trinity that is difficult to combine with two anthropomorphic figures. On the other hand, this iconography was traditionally, until the Counter-Reformation, a representation of the Virgin and Child with the figure of Saint Joseph in the foreground. It was not until the reforms of Trent that Saint Joseph began to take centre stage as the protector and guide of the Infant Jesus.