Painting of The Holy Family

Painting of The Holy Family

Plaque on frame reads ‘Catalonian School 15th Century’ 
Oil on wood panel in black frame 

Our Object of the Month for December is a painting of the traditional Christmas scene – that of the holy family in the stable. It is believed to have been painted in Catalonia in the 15th century. It depicts Mary and Joseph gazing reverently down at the infant Jesus lying on a bed of straw which resembles golden rays of light. Mary has a golden halo behind her head, and the guiding star can be seen above them. The two cows in the background remind us of the humble circumstances of the birth. The prominent single tree in the background may be a deliberate reminder of where the need for redemption originates: Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden.

Although they are depicted in a stable, Mary and Joseph’s rich and luxurious clothing in this painting reflects their important and holy status. Instead of the traditional blue, Mary is wearing the kinds of clothing that wealthy women in 15th-century Catalonia would wear - a black and gold damask (woven silk) hooded cloak with ermine fur and a gold damask dress. Both their cloaks are trimmed with gold. As with the expensive blue colour often chosen for Mary’s clothes, the rich fabrics she is wearing reflects her status as ‘Queen of Heaven’, mother of Christ. In the 14th – 16th century, Mary was often depicted on a throne with Jesus on her lap, sometimes surrounded by saints and angels. Here the distance between Mary and her son serves to emphasise the special status of Christ. Rather than being held, he is shown as the object of his parent’s worship.

Virgin and child enthroned with scenes from the Life of the Virgin, tempera and gold on wood, Spanish, 15th century, The Metropolitan Museum, accession number 41.190.28a-d

Paintings of the holy family which formed part of altar pieces for churches or in wealthy private homes would have been liberally covered in gold leaf and would often have carved decorations in wood. Our Object of the Month is not as elaborately decorated, although it may originally have had gold leaf details. It is possible that it may have been one panel of a larger altarpiece, but its plainer decoration suggests it may have been made for worship in a private home. The wealthiest in Catalan society could afford a private chapel within their own home. Those with less would often place a devotional image in the most important rooms of the house – the bedroom or dining room. Paintings or other religious images like our object of the month would often be kept covered by a curtain, and revealed when the time came for prayer.

 Virgin and Saints, Rosello di Jacopo Franchi (1377 - 1456), Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona, inventory number 015932-000

December’s Object of the Month is unique in the collection. Denys Eyre Bower (1905 – 1977), the last private owner of the Castle, did collect paintings, but mostly those related to the Stuarts and Jacobites. His collections can be grouped into four main areas - Stuart and Jacobite, Japanese, Buddhist, and Ancient Egyptian. There are two Christian paintings in the collection, but one has a clear link with Deny’s interest in Japan. It is a painting of ‘Five Saints’ by the artist Luis Tristan (late 16th – early 17th century), which is currently in storage awaiting repair and conservation. One of the saints depicted is Francis Xavier, who was the first Jesuit to go to Japan as a missionary in 1549.

The reason why Denys collected a painting of the holy family in the stables is less clear. Denys identified as a Buddhist, as illustrated by the works on Buddhism in his Library, his choice to feature a Buddhist statue in his portrait by Dame Laura Knight, and his correspondence with the ‘Buddhist visitor’ whilst he was in prison.  He was, however, interested in oil paintings and ‘old masters’ paintings (European painters who worked prior to 1800). The large collection of auction catalogues he left behind, as well as his Library of books, gives us a good idea of how vast his interests where.