The Dream of Saint Joseph (La Tour)
The Dream of Saint Joseph is an oil-on-canvas painting created between 1628 and 1645 by the French Baroque painter Georges de La Tour which is now in the collection of the Musée d'Arts de Nantes.[1]
| The Dream of Saint Joseph | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Georges de La Tour |
| Year | ca. 1628–1645 |
| Type | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 93 cm × 81 cm (37 in × 32 in) |
| Location | Musée d'Arts de Nantes, Nantes, France |
The painting depicts Saint Joseph, the father of Jesus, being visited while dreaming by either an angel with a message or a young girl after falling asleep while reading a book.[2][3] According to the New Testament he was actually visited four times with various messages and it is not clear in this case which visit is being portrayed. It is most likely to represent the second visit in which Joseph is advised to leave Bethlehem and seek sanctuary for the Holy Family in Egypt.
Typical of many of de La Tour's works, a chiaroscuro effect is achieved by lighting the scene with a candle.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "L'Apparition de l'ange à saint Joseph dit aussi Le Songe de saint Joseph". Musée d'Arts de Nantes. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
- ^ Aleteia article, December 17, 2017
- ^ Independent, October 6, 2006
Further reading
edit- Conisbee, Philip. “An Introduction to the Life and Art of Georges de La Tour,” in Philip Conisbee (ed.), Georges de La Tour and His World, exhibition catalogue Washington, DC, National Gallery of Art; Fort Worth, Kimbell Art Museum 1996, pp.13-147.
- Judovitz, Dalia. Georges de La Tour and the Enigma of the Visible, New York, Fordham University Press, 2018. ISBN 0-82327-744-5; ISBN 9780823277445.
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