Spanish school; 17th century. "Saint Joseph with Child". Oil on canvas. Relined. Measurements: 61 x 47,5 cm. On a dark background and highlighted by means of a powerful spotlight, the face and the hands of St. Joseph appear (hardly anything else can be seen of the rest of the body) and the figure of the Child. The light treatment in this painting, which clearly reflects the influence of Caravaggio and his tenebrism, is striking, as is the lack of space available to the figures, as well as their size. It is also worth noting the softness of the faces and figures,paring the present work with works by the aforementioned Baroque master. The iconography of Saint Joseph, although one of the oldest in Christianity, tended to be relegated to a secondary role in the main themes of the Life of Christ. It was not until the Gothic period that he began to appear more frequently both in art and in liturgy and devotion, and, with the expansion of the latter, his figure began to take on greater importance, until the Baroque and Counter-Reformation periods brought him to the fore (slightly secondary to Mary), and he was now very frequently apanied by the Christ Child, as was the Virgin.Dimensions: 61 x 47,5 cm.