Christ in the House of His Parents

When Millais showed this in London in 1850, it caused a genuine scandal, and the loudest voice against it was the novelist Charles Dickens. What offended people was the ordinariness. Millais painted the holy family as a real working carpenter's shop, with wood shavings on the floor, dirt, and a pale red-haired boy who has cut his hand on a nail. Dickens called the young Jesus a wry-necked, blubbering, red-headed boy and was disgusted by how plain Mary looked. The cut hand and the drops of blood on the foot are meant to point ahead to the crucifixion. Queen Victoria was curious enough that she had the painting brought to Buckingham Palace so she could look at it herself.