Getty Museum
The Holy Family
Creator
Joseph PaelinckBelgian Artist · 1781–1839
All works by this person →At age 21 Joseph Paelinck left is native country, Flanders, and the farming life he was born into to pursue a painting career. He arrived in Paris in 1802, during the early years of Napoleon Bonaparte's reign, to study with the celebrated painter Jacques-Louis David. In 1804 Paelinck's painting *Judgment of Paris* won a prize at the Ghent Salon, and his talent came to the attention of notable patr
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1820
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Culture
- Belgian
- Department
- Paintings
- Institution
- Getty Museum
- Object ID
- d9ee5f87-99b9-4a4d-8e08-0a6fc03a1a3b
From the Getty Museum record
In this easily comprehensible scene, the Virgin Mary and her mother Anne hold the Christ Child, probably observed by Mary's husband Joseph and her father Joachim. But the identity of the two older people remains debatable: some scholars speculate that they might be Biblical prophets, who lived long enough to see the Christ Child as God had promised them. Joseph Paelinck stressed the humanity of the Holy Family in this moment of peace and intimacy. His simple, orderly composition gives equal attention to each of the individual figures. The device of the draped wall encloses the space and intensifies the viewer's focus on the interaction among the large, idealized figures. Elements such as the dramatic lighting and the sharply articulated folds of drapery show Paelinck's admiration of Jacques-Louis David's Neoclassical style.
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