La Sacra Famiglia

In 1775 the man who painted this was 29 and brand new to Madrid, freshly arrived from Zaragoza to work under his brother-in-law, the court painter Francisco Bayeu. This is Goya years before the Goya most people picture. The scene is Joseph's carpentry workshop, and you can see the wood shavings scattered across the floor. Joseph holds his flowering staff while Mary looks quietly at the child, who already grips a small wooden cross. The smooth modelling and cool order come straight from Anton Raphael Mengs, the German master then setting the rules for painting at the Spanish court. Goya joined that royal circle the same year, designing scenes for the king's tapestry works.