At the end of the sixteenth century, El Greco was commissioned to create the St. Joseph and Christ Child (1597-99) by the Ramírez family for the main altarpiece of the chapel of San José in Toledo. This Study aims to analyze the iconographic... At the end of the sixteenth century, El Greco was commissioned to create the St. Joseph and Christ Child (1597-99) by the Ramírez family for the main altarpiece of the chapel of San José in Toledo. This Study aims to analyze the iconographic meaning and the religious and social function of the painting in the context of the devotional culture to St. Joseph in the sixteenth century Spain. In St. Joseph and Christ Child, El Greco described the ‘Joseph walking with the Christ Child’, which was the new iconography appeared in the fifteenth century. Since the twelfth century devotional writers had paid attention to the authority of Joseph as the foster father of Jesus and the spouse of the Virgin Mary, and eventually by the fifteenth century the devotion to saint Joseph was officially approved. Theologians who advocated the honor of the saint asserted that he played an indirect but critical role in salvation by protecting and bringing up the Christ. That is represented in El Greco’s painting through young and vigorous Joseph intimate with Christ Child. Furthermore, the saint with a shepherd’s crook guides travel for the Child leading to Passion and Sacrifice, that is, to the redemption of men. Above his head angels as messengers from heaven crown him the laurel wreath and the wreath of roses, which signify rewards and privileges derived from the virtue of Joseph. The iconographic interpretation coincides closely with the purpose of the chapel of San José, a funerary chapel constructed by the inheritance of wealthy merchant Martin Ramírez (1499-1568). The primary function of this institution was to bury ancestors of the Ramírez family and to celebrate the Mass for the dead. Thus the entire retable program is based on the doctrine of purgatory and the doctrine of justification by both faith and good works, which indicates the family’s wish for complete penance and salvation. In this context, Joseph in the St. Joseph and Christ Child is an example of an act of charity for the patron family, and his paternity of Christ demonstrates the prominent intercessory ability between men and God. Furthermore, this canvas was deeply connected with the Mass as the main altarpiece of the chapel. In the period of Counter-Reformation the visual impact became more important in the service of the Mass as well as the fundamental Catholic doctrines. In consideration of those circumstances, Jesus wearing the red robe at the bottom would be placed just before where the priest elevated the Host and the Chalice at the moment of Consecration. That was supposedly to help the congregation to meditate on the Real Presence of Christ as a visual emphasis on the Eucharist. El Greco also designed the painting to help the prayers led to contemplation through its dual structure, optically leading upwards from the physical description of view of Toledo at the bottom to the metaphysical light and clouds with angels at the top. Moreover, gilded frame of the altarpiece similar to the structure of the façade of the chapel, as a door to the sacred place, was a device to make the worshiper realize and embrace the Divine illumination. In the culture of the cult of saint Joseph, the saint may have appealed to the Ramírez family who were underestimated because of their converso (converted) ancestors. However, they had a strong desire to be accepted to the old Christian families in Toledo. This might be the reason that historical prominent buildings in the city were included in the background. In addition, the preeminence of the chapel as the first foundation dedicated to saint Joseph symbolizes the family’s desire to present pride and legitimacy for the city as the old Christian. In Spain at that time a patron saint of conversos was Joseph whom the state politically supported for the religious unity, therefore he was the most appropriate titular saint for the chapel of the Ramírez family in their circumstances. It is suggested, consequently, that El Greco intended the St. Joseph and Christ Child to conduct both a religious function promoting the intercessory prayer for the patron family’s penance and salvation in the Mass for the dead, and a social function consolidating their status in social community. ，韩语论文网站，韩语论文网站 |
