Oil on panel. The Holy Family. Late 18th century French school. -

Oil on panel. The Holy Family. Late 18th century French school.

Oil on panel. The Holy Family. Late 18th century French school. Small private devotional painting depicting the Virgin at the soup, an intimate scene emphasizing the human aspect of the nursing mother and her child. Joseph, holding cherries in his hand evokes the symbol of the Eucharistic sacrifice. This balance between the sacred and the profane allowed the owner to identify with the figures and meditate on religion.

Period frame in carved and gilded wood, topped by a ribbon-wrapped pediment decorated with a rose, suggesting a wedding gift.