Madonna with beardless Joseph

"Madonna with the beardless Joseph"

The Holy Family (Madonna with a Beardless Joseph) is one of two works by Raphael that remained in Russia after the Hermitage sales of the 1930s.

The picture came to the Hermitage in the 18th century together with the collection of Pierre Croz , who purchased it from the Duke of Angouleme with a big discount, caused by the fact that the canvas was rewritten by an inept artist for restoration purposes. The subsequent transfer to canvas and unsuccessful attempts at restoration did not have the best effect on the state of the work. Connoisseurs of the XIX - early XX century expressed doubts about its authenticity, which is why the Soviet government in the 1930s. could not find him a foreign buyer.

In the traditional group of the Holy Family, the infant Christ is depicted sitting in a complex, mobile pose in the lap of Mary . To her right stands, leaning on a staff, an elderly man with gray hair; his gaze is fixed on the infant. By tradition, art historians see in the old man Joseph the Handcuffer , who was usually portrayed as immersed in deep thought about the fate of his son. This is a very rare image of Joseph without a beard, hence the second name of the painting - “ Madonna with beardless Joseph ”.

The interior, behind which a fragment of the landscape can be seen through the arched opening, together with a number of other details (the baby’s expression, posture, Maria’s hair) indicate the influence of Leonardo da Vinci . This allows the creation of a work to be attributed to the early period of the work of Raphael in Florence . There is an assumption that the Hermitage “Holy Family” is one of several “Madonnas”, according to Vasari , written by Raphael for Gvidobaldo Montefeltro during brief trips to his native Urbino .

The restoration of this painting at the beginning of the 19th century attracted the attention of A.S. Pushkin , who in 1819 wrote the poem “Revival” on this topic, and also included in his later work “Mozart and Salieri” the following words on behalf of Salieri: “I don’t it is funny when the painter is unfit // I get Rafael Madonna’s dirty ” ^[1] .