St. Joseph

Master of the Utrecht Adoration painted this depiction around 1525, contributing to the devotional art of the High Renaissance period. Saints' images served as intercessors and models of virtue for the faithful. The painting is in the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum. The tempera-on-panel medium required a carefully gessoed surface and was painted in fine, precise layers, yielding a luminous, jewel-like surface of great durability.

The painting demonstrates the technical conventions and artistic vocabulary of the period, with attention to composition, color, and the rendering of form appropriate to the subject.