The Virgin and Child with Saints Joseph and Lucy and a Woman and Boy at Prayer

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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An unidentified woman and boy kneel in prayer before the Virgin and Child with saints in a landscape. Saint Lucy, the bearer of light, holds a martyr’s palm and a burning oil lamp. The woman, wearing an ornamented dress and cloak, is probably the mother of the kneeling boy presented by Saint Joseph. The flowering rod Saint Joseph holds represents the staff that broke into blossom to show he was chosen to marry the Virgin Mary.

The light around the woman’s head suggests she is supposed to be a saint, but it may not be original. The mother and son are probably the donors of the painting.

This picture is possibly by Cariani although it is not entirely typical of his work. The composition is derived from Camillo Boccaccino’s altarpiece in Cremona Cathedral, commissioned in 1533, showing the Virgin and Child with Saints Martha, Mary Magdalene, James and Anthony Abbot, which is now lost.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Virgin and Child with Saints Joseph and Lucy and a Woman and Boy at Prayer

Date

about 1540

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 85.8 x W 118 cm

Accession number

NG1203

Acquisition method

Bought, 1886

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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