On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P07857
- Author
- Goya y Lucientes, Francisco de (Spanish)
- Title
- The Holy Family
- Chronology
- Ca. 1787
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 63,5 cm x 51,5 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- DACION
- Procedence
- Acquisition 2003
Goya expresses the greater
importance of this composition
through the larger size of the
figures, compared to its companion
work, Tobias and the Angel
(P7856).
The wood shavings on the floor
indicate that the scene takes place
in Saint Joseph's austere carpentry
shop. The Virgin and Saint Joseph
—holding his flowering staff— sadly
reflect on their child's destiny,
which is foreshadowed by the wooden
cross he holds in his hands. The
light, which is observed with great
naturalness, comes from the Child
and his Mother and floods the dark
room. The composition is ordered
according to the reigning
neoclassical rigor, to which Goya
was not immune at that time.
Location on the map
