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Joseph the Carpenter
Georges de La Tour · Baroque & Dutch Golden Age
- Artist
- Georges de La Tour (1593–1652)
- Date
- c. 1642
- Dimensions
- 137 x 102 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
This painting shows Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, bent over his work in a dark carpenter's shop, drilling a hole in a beam of wood. The child Jesus sits beside him, holding up a candle that lights the scene.
A closer look
The candle is the only source of light: it shines through the child's fingers, which glow red, and illuminates his pure, calm face and the old man's wrinkled forehead and strong arms. The contrast between the youth and innocence of Jesus and the age and labour of Joseph is deeply moving. The beam Joseph is working on is often seen as a foreshadowing of the cross on which Christ will die. La Tour reduces everything to simple, almost geometric forms and a few warm colours, creating a mood of silence and meditation.
