Holy Family
Basic Info
We see in the artistic tradition a slew of figures in images of the Holy Family. Mary and Jesus are always present. Joseph and John the Baptist show up often. Sometimes we also see Anne, Mary’s mother, and Elizabeth, Mary’s kinswoman, who is also John the Baptist’s mother. Sometimes angels and other saints are also depicted with the Holy Family.
Mary is sometimes depicted as a teenager, other times as more adult. The interpretation of Joseph’s age has varied greatly in the art tradition, ranging from young adult to old man. Thus the age gap between Mary and Joseph varies widely in the art tradition. John the Baptist’s age varies widely as well. He can be depicted as a few months to several years older than Jesus. A few months older is in keeping with Luke’s story of the Visitation between Mary and Elizabeth when both were pregnant.
Sometimes the Holy Family images are like portraits; other times they capture the Holy Family in a scene from daily life, the figures engaged in some task or Jesus (and John) playing with a toy or animal. Still other times we see the Holy Family in a particular Bible story, such as the presentation and circumcision in the Temple, in which we sometimes find Simeon or Anna (Luke 2:22–38); the flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13–15), or the retrieving of the 12-year-old Jesus when he stayed behind in the Temple after the Passover festival discussing Scripture with the doctors (Luke 2:41–52).
Holy Family images also present the viewer with ideals of family and parenthood, ideals that change from culture to culture and era to era. These ideals both emerge from and shape the culture.
What to Look For
• Whether Jesus or someone / something else is at the center of the artwork
• Who the artist includes in the artwork (Jesus, Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, Anne, Elizabeth, other saints, faithful people, etc.)
• Joseph’s relationship to the event (missing, in the background, engaged, happy, sad, sitting, doing something, etc.)
• Mary’s attitude toward the child Jesus (motherly, prayerful, reflective, playful, happy, etc.)
• Whether Jesus looks like a small grown man (with the wisdom of God) or a human baby
• How Jesus is engaging (or not) with the rest of the figures (notice hands, face, eyes)
• Whether John the Baptist is wearing camel skins, even as a child
• Whether the location and context looks like the artist’s time and place or the artist’s imagined vision of 1st-century Palestine
• The mood of the artwork
Questions to Focus a General Interpretation
How is family life depicted (working, learning, enjoying leisure time, playing, eating, praying)?
Notice who is present and who is not. What might Joseph’s presence or absence mean? What might the presence or absence of a grandmother or cousin mean?
Is Jesus being more Divine or Human in this family event?
Questions to Guide a Personal Interpretation
What does this artwork evoke about your family? How does / did your family live up to this ideal? How is / was your family different from this ideal? Is it time to change either the ideal or your family?
Are there others with whom you share this kind of familial love? with whom you could share this kind of love?
Does this artwork offer you a substitute vision to heal the broken, frail, incomplete, or destructive families in which you have lived?
Questions to Suggest a Historical Interpretation
What might Joseph’s presence or absence say about the role of husbands and fathers in the artist’s place and time?
What might the presence or absence of Anna, John the Baptist, or Elizabeth say about the role of extended family in the artist’s place and time?
