Holy Family Embrace at Christmas

About this drawing

A Holy Family embrace is among the most tender images in Christian art. The term refers to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph together, and the idea draws on their everyday life in Nazareth. The Gospels say very little about those years, which left plenty of room for artists to imagine them.

Catholics mark the Feast of the Holy Family on the Sunday after Christmas, or on December 30 when no Sunday falls in between. Pope Leo XIII promoted the devotion in the late nineteenth century, when the Church wanted to encourage strong home life. Over time, Joseph came to stand for honest labor, and Mary for patient, attentive love.

Painters found much to work with in this theme. Michelangelo and Raphael both made well-known versions during the Renaissance. Spanish painter Bartolomé Murillo gave Joseph a warm, playful role, showing him with the boy and a small dog. Rembrandt set the family in a cozy Dutch-style home, with Mary reading and Joseph working nearby. In Barcelona, Antoni Gaudí's enormous basilica is dedicated to the same devotion, and it has become one of the most visited sites in Europe. Whether in a grand church or a simple drawing, the appeal is easy to understand. People of any background recognize a family holding on to each other.

• holy family
• star
• fine line
• christmas eve