Christ and the Virgin in the House at Nazareth
Stories of Christ’s childhood and adolescence became increasingly popular during the Counter-Reformation because they were easily understood by a broad public. Rather than taking a story from the Bible, Zurbarán appears to have invented this subject, in which Jesus pricks himself on a crown of thorns he is weaving, foretelling his later torment at the Crucifixion. Despite the grand scale and monumental figures, the work has remarkable intimacy and quietness, emphasizing such details as the Virgin’s tears.
Details
- Palette
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- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- framed: height 2.01 m, width 2.56 m, depth 0.1 m; unframed: height 1.65 m, width 2.182 m
- Origin
- Spain
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image provider
- cleveland-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Art Genome Taxonomy
11 tags
Subject Matter
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Deities and Holy Figures Metadata · 97%
The museum identifies the figures as Christ and the Virgin.
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Implied Narrative Both · 96%
The museum describes an invented episode in which Jesus pricks himself while weaving a crown of thorns, while the image presents the figures in a specific moment of action and emotional response.
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The Domestic and Domesticity Both · 93%
The title locates the scene in the House at Nazareth, and the image shows an intimate interior containing a table, books, textiles, flowers, and other household objects.
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Interiors Visual · 98%
The figures and furnishings occupy a dark enclosed room, with a table, books, textiles, a vase of flowers, and birds visible in the setting.
Visual Qualities
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Dark Colors Visual · 94%
The background and furnishings are dominated by deep brown, black, and muted green tones, contrasted with blue, red, pink, and white garments.
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Highly Detailed Visual · 90%
Facial features, tears, fabric folds, books, fruit, flowers, the thorn crown, and birds are rendered with close observational detail.
Medium and Techniques
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Painting Metadata · 99%
The museum classifies the work as a painting.
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Oil Painting Metadata · 99%
The museum specifies oil on canvas.
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Chiaroscuro Visual · 96%
Strong illumination falls on the figures, fabrics, and selected objects against a predominantly shadowed ground, producing pronounced light-dark contrast.
Time Periods
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17th Century Art Metadata · 98%
The work is dated circa 1640, within the seventeenth century.
Geographic Regions
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Spanish Art Metadata · 98%
The place of origin is identified as Spain, and the artist is Francisco de Zurbarán, a Spanish painter.
Source & rights
Francisco de Zurbarán (Spanish, 1598–1664). Christ and the Virgin in the House at Nazareth. Cleveland Museum of Art.