NARRATOR:
To make the divine seem human, engaging and vitally alive. That was one of the chief goals of Italian Baroque art, as it sought to revivify the spirit of Catholicism in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. And it’s beautifully achieved in this painting by the 17th-century master Baciccio.
The old man gazes down adoringly at the baby who reaches to caress his flowing beard in a gesture that mirrors Joseph’s own exquisitely-rendered hands that, in turn, seem to caress the infant. The fluttering drapery suggests that he’s just scooped up the child. It’s a familiar heartwarming moment. But this infant is Christ and the old man is his earthly father Joseph, an important saint of the Baroque era. Baciccio signals their holiness with great subtlety: a faint disc hovers above Joseph’s head, and light radiates from Christ’s golden curls. Wonderfully fluid brushstrokes impart a sense of life to everything: the folds of cloth, the creases on Joseph’s brow, even the locks of hair on his balding head.
Saint Joseph Embracing the Infant Christ
c. 1670-75
Giovanni Battista Gaulli, called Il Baciccio (Italian, 1639-1709)
Not on View
Saint Joseph Embracing the Infant Christ provides a characteristic example of Baciccio's style of easel painting, which is vigorously Baroque in design and conception. The dynamic folds of drapery which envelop the figures are profoundly influenced by the sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Baciccio's native Genoese traditions are evident in the dark background, the use of highly saturated, warm colors and the broad, painterly handling.
Details
- Artist Name: Giovanni Battista Gaulli, called Il Baciccio (Italian, 1639-1709)
- Title: Saint Joseph Embracing the Infant Christ
- Date: c. 1670-75
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 50 1/4 x 38 1/8 in. (127.6 x 96.8 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1973.36.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
Cardinal Rasponi Nobili di Ravenna (1615–1675).
Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali, by 14 February 1737, and by descent to;
Michele Imperiali (1667–1738);
Marchese Lorenzo Imperiali Francavilla, Naples, sold through;
[Gaetano Giardiello, Naples, 1831 to];
Robert Townley-Parker (1793-1879), Cuerden Hall and Astley, Lancashire, by descent to;
Captain Robert Townley-Parker (d. 1894);
Thomas Townley-Parker (d. 1906);
Reginald Arthur Tatton (1857-1926), Cuerden Hall, Lancashire, by descent to his son;
Captain Thomas Arthur Tatton, Cuerden Hall, Lancashire (sale, London, Christie’s, 28 February 1947, no. 75, as Guido Reni, to);
"Landell".
[Olivero Tradardi, Stockholm and Rome, by 1972, consigned to;]
[Heim Gallery, London, sold with Tradardi 1973 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali, by 14 February 1737, and by descent to;
Michele Imperiali (1667–1738);
Marchese Lorenzo Imperiali Francavilla, Naples, sold through;
[Gaetano Giardiello, Naples, 1831 to];
Robert Townley-Parker (1793-1879), Cuerden Hall and Astley, Lancashire, by descent to;
Captain Robert Townley-Parker (d. 1894);
Thomas Townley-Parker (d. 1906);
Reginald Arthur Tatton (1857-1926), Cuerden Hall, Lancashire, by descent to his son;
Captain Thomas Arthur Tatton, Cuerden Hall, Lancashire (sale, London, Christie’s, 28 February 1947, no. 75, as Guido Reni, to);
"Landell".
[Olivero Tradardi, Stockholm and Rome, by 1972, consigned to;]
[Heim Gallery, London, sold with Tradardi 1973 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
Paintings & Sculptures of the Italian Baroque
- London, Heim Gallery, 1973-05-30 to 1973-09-21
[on loan]
- Detroit Institute of Arts, 1973-12-19 to
Reinstallation of Galleries: Art History of the 17th and 18th Century Gains Fresh Dimension
- Norton Simon Museum, 1993-09-02 to 1995-08-13
The Expressive Body: Memory, Devotion, Desire (1400-1750)
- Norton Simon Museum, 2021-10-15 to 2022-03-07
- McCorquodale, Charles, The Connoisseur, p. 207
- Soprani, Raffaele; and Carlo Giuseppe Ratti, Vite de' pittori, scultori, ed architetti genovesi, 1797, p. 84
- Catalouge of the Pictures at Cuerden Hall Preston, The Property of Reginald A Tatton, 1913, no. 28
- Rodinò, Prosperi Valenti, Bollettino d'Arte, 1953, p. 43 no. 70, p. 55 no. 18, fig. 11 pp. 28, 43, 45, 55
- Engas, Robert, The Painting of Baciccio: Giovanni Battista Gaulli 1639-1709, 1964, p. 173
- Heim Gallery, Paintings and Sculptures of the Italian Baroque, 1973, no. 9
- Santifaller, Maria, Jahrbuch der Staatlichen Kustammlungen in Baden-Wurtemberg, 1976, no. 6, fig. 1 pp. 65-67, 82
- Selleck, Jack, Faces, 1977, p. 77
- Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 1986, cover, p. 3052
- Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum, 1989, p. 50
- Sestieri, Giancarlo, Repertorio della pittura romana della fine del Siecento e del Settecento, 1994, vol. I, p. 79; vol II, fig. 440 p. 79
- Museo Baciccio: in margine a quattro inventari inediti, 1996, no. 64
- Fagiolo dell'Arco, Maurizio; Dieter Graf, and Francesco Petrucci, Giovan Battista Gaulli, Il Baciccio 1639-1709, 1999, p. 200, no. 55, p. 54, fig. 9 pp. 53, 54, 198, 200, 341
- Bernardini, Maria Grazia, Bernini a Montecitorio, 2002, fig. 21 pp. 73-76
- Kunsthistorisches Museum mit MVK und ÖTM, Francis Bacon and the Tradition of Art, 2003, Plate 10 pp. 68-69
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 1002 p. 361
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