The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities

In the Seville of the 1670s, Spanish Catholicism wanted images that ordinary worshippers could feel rather than decode, and Murillo became the master of exactly that warmth. Here he takes a knotty piece of theology — Christ as both human and divine — and makes it a single glance. The Christ child stands at the centre on a bare rock. Above him the dove of the Holy Spirit and God the Father form the heavenly trinity. On either side Mary and Joseph, his earthly family, complete the second. Mary looks at her son with plain maternal love, while Joseph turns out toward us, as if inviting us in. The rock underfoot is likely no accident, echoing the old description of Christ as the cornerstone.