The Pope's personal devotion to St. Joseph

THE CARVING OF SAINT JOSEPH ON THE POPE'S WORKING TABLE

In one of the trips made by Pope Francis to Peru received as a gift a carving wood. The carving represented San Jose with his work tools, next to the Child who, from below, looks at him with tenderness.

We know that for Francis the life of St. Joseph is a source of inspiration. During his first homily on the Solemnity of St. Joseph as pope, he said: "I love St. Joseph very much, a man of strength and silence". We know that since his return from Peru, the pope has the stature at his desk at the Vatican.

A NEW WORK INSPIRED BY PERUVIAN CARVING

At the end of 2018, we received a special request to perform a replica of this size, but the only documentation was a few photos that lacked sufficient quality to appreciate the detail. The photos correspond to meetings of a political nature in which it can be seen that the carving of St. Joseph is always on his table in the Vatican Apostolic Library.

After considering the possibility of making the replica in direct carving, it was decided to study the image as much as possible and make a draft from it. The digital modeling allowed the image to be unraveled and interpretedThe reproduction would not be an exact reproduction in any case, but rather a interpretation inspired by the play by Peruvian Miguel Morales. The photographs, of poor quality and showing more of the back than the front, did not provide much information.

Once the image, 40 cm including standThe wood was roughed by machine, eliminating the thickest parts of the piece. Because of its small size, the carving needed so much precision that it was necessary to to carry out a thorough review, as well as to design by hand certain details of the figure. 

Once the modeling was completed, we returned to the original carving, which encloses simplicity in every detail. For this reason, a polychrome in glazes, simple and without gilding of any kind.

ICONOGRAPHY: SAINT JOSEPH IN ART

We are in front of a carving that represents a young St. Joseph, dressed in an artisan's tunic and apron and carrying one of his carpenter's tools..

The figure of St. Joseph in art has been depicted in many ways throughout the history of art and has been represented in many ways throughout the history of art, although it played a secondary role during the first centuriesfrom the proclamation of its feast day in 1621, devotion grew among the faithful. Its iconography was enriched over time, especially since 1870, the year in which he was named Patron of the Universal Church.

St. Joseph has been depicted in two ways: either as a old man with long beard and wrinkled face - due to the need to reinforce the doctrine of Mary's virginity -, or as a young and strong man-emphasizing his role as protector of the Virgin.

St. Joseph also has his own attributes: the almond rodsymbol of purity and chastity, and the carpenter's tools. He is also represented with the child in his arms, as a symbol of his condition of teacher and conductor.