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Artist: Jacob Jordaens (1593–1678)
Alternative names: Jacques Jordaens, ...
Flemish painter, draughtsman, printmaker and tapestry designer
Work period: 1607-1678
Work location: Antwerp (1607-1678), The Hague (1649-1652), Amsterdam (1660), Utrecht (1660)
Title: The Holy Family by Candlelight
English: The Holy Family
Object type: Painting
Description: Jordaens’ down-to-earth rendering of the Holy Family embraces the most intimate qualities of Caravaggism. The lit candle held by a maidservant is supplemented by the light from the unseen fireplace at which Joseph warms his hands, situating the genre-like scene in the heart of winter, the season in which Jesus was born. Standing upright on Mary’s lap, the realistically portrayed Christ Child seeks the viewer’s attention, as if beckoning us to approach and join in the adoration. With motherly pride Mary presents Jesus. The knife in his right hand alludes to the Circumcision, the first occasion on which the Redeemer’s blood was shed for our sins, intended to encourage meditation on the Passion. Details of the iconography are derived from the visions of St Bridget of Sweden, who described the newborn Christ Child as the source of a bright supernatural light. Jordaens concretises this divine radiance emanating from the body of Jesus – “the light of the world” – as an unusually intense reflected light from the flame of the candle.
Date: from circa 1621 until 1622
Medium: Oil on wood
Dimensions: Height: 122 cm (48 in). Width: 92 cm (36.2 in).
Framed: Height: 150 cm (59.1 in). Width: 120 cm (47.2 in). Depth: 13 cm (5.1 in).
SKU: 272991
