Artwork
The Holy Family
The Holy Family is an oil painting by the Biedermeier artist Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg. It dates from 1811 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting shows Mary, the infant Christ Child, and Joseph together as a domestic group, emphasizing their familial bond and divine purpose.
The painting shows Mary, the infant Christ Child, and Joseph together as a domestic group, emphasizing their familial bond and divine purpose. The composition highlights the tender interaction between mother and child while Joseph fulfills his protective role, reflecting Lutheran ideas of piety within ordinary life. Symbolic details such as the modest interior and simple furnishings underscore humility and domestic virtue, reinforcing the work's spiritual message of sacredness in everyday relationships.
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in oil on canvas, with the medium applied in a manner consistent with early-19th-century academic practice.
The composition centers on the seated Virgin Mary cradling the Christ Child, flanked by Saint Joseph, arranged in a triangular grouping that anchors the scene. Figures are modeled with careful chiaroscuro, emphasizing volumetric form through subtle transitions of light and shadow. Linear precision and smooth brushwork articulate contours and drapery, reflecting Eckersberg's training under Jacques-Louis David's neoclassical influence.
History & Provenance
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg created the oil painting titled The Holy Family in 1811. The work was executed on canvas and depicts the religious subjects of Mary, the Christ Child, and Joseph. It is currently held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen.
Overview
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg’s 1811 oil painting titled The Holy Family presents a quiet domestic scene of the infant Jesus with his parents, Mary and Joseph. The composition centers on the child, cradled by a kneeling Mary, while Joseph stands behind, gazing affectionately. The work is part of the collection of Denmark’s National Gallery of Art (Statens Museum for Kunst).
Artist & collection
Artist
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (2 January 1783 – 22 July 1853) was a Danish painter.
Bella and Hanna. The Eldest Daughters of M. L. Nathanson
Familien Nathanson
View of Lake Fure near Rudersdal, North Sealand.
A View towards the Swedish Coast from the Ramparts of Kronborg Castle
Landscape with a Stile. The Isle of Møn
Renbjærg Tileworks by Flensburg Fiord
View of the Cloaca Maxima, Rome
Street Scene in Windy and Rainy Weather
- The Holy Family
The Holy Family
The Holy Family
The Holy Family
Den hellige familie
Heilige Familie unter der Eiche (Kopie nach)
The Holy Family, St John with a small Bird in his Hand
Holy Family
Die Vermählung der hl. Katharina
The Holy Family, St John with a small Bird in his Hand
Die Heilige Familie mit Anna, Elisabeth und Johannes
Die Madonna erscheint zwei Pilgern (Kopie nach)