Heinrich Meyring
The Holy Family

1702
The "Scalzi" church, Venice, Italy

The object in Mary's left hand is a "scapular," a cloth pendant worn by Carmelite friars, first promoted by St. Simon Stock. Many other images place St. Simon Stock below her, receiving the scapular.

The child is naked with a bit of cloth covering his genitals. This type of image was developed in the 16th century; images in the 15th had left him entirely naked.

St. Joseph is portrayed as a man in vigorous middle age. This had become common practice by the 18th century, though many images still followed the older tradition of making him an old man.

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Photographed at the site by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.