Information about Christ in the House of his Parents

Christ in the House of His Parents, 1850

Christ in the House of His Parents (1850) is a painting by John Everett Millais depicting the Holy Family in Saint Joseph's carpentry workshop. The painting was extremely controversial when first exhibited, prompting many negative reviews, most notably one written by Charles Dickens. It catapulted the previously obscure Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood to notoriety and was a major contributor to the debate about Realism in the arts.

Subject

The painting depicts the young Jesus assisting his father Joseph in his workshop. Joseph is making a door, which is laid on his carpentry work-table. Jesus has cut his hand on an exposed nail, leading to a sign of the stigmata, prefiguring the crucifixion. As Saint Anne removes the nail with a pair of pincers, his concerned mother Mary offers her cheek for a kiss while Joseph examines his wounded hand. The young John the Baptist brings in water to wash the wound, prefiguring his later baptism of Christ. An assistant of Joseph's, representing potential future Apostles watches these events. In the background various objects are used to further point up the theological significance of the subject. A ladder, referring to Jacob's ladder is visible leaning against the back wall; a dove standing for the Holy spirit rests on it. Other carpentry implements refer to the holy trinity. Millais probably used Albrecht DÃ¼rer's print Melancholia I as a source for this imagery, along with quatrocento works. The sheep in the fold in the background represent the future Christian flock.^[1]

It has been suggested that Millais was influenced by John Rogers Herbert's painting "Our Saviour Subject to His Parents at Nazareth".^[2]

Critical response

The painting was immensely controversial when first exhibited because of its realistic depiction of a carpentry workshop, especially the dirt and detritus on the floor. This was in dramatic contrast to the familiar portrayal of Jesus, his family and his apostles, in costumes reminiscent of Roman togas. Charles Dickens accused Millais of portraying Mary as an alcoholic who looks

...so hideous in her ugliness that ... she would stand out from the rest of the company as a Monster, in the vilest cabaret in France, or the lowest gin-shop in England.

Jesus was a "wry-necked boy in a nightgown who seems to have received a poke playing in an adjacent gutter."^[3] Other critics suggested that the characters displayed signs of rickets and other disease associated with slum conditions. Because of the controversy Queen Victoria asked for the painting to be taken to Buckingham palace so that she could view it in private.

Consequences

The effect of the critical comments was to make the Pre-Raphaelite movement famous and to create a debate about the relationship between modernity, realism and medievalism in the arts. The critic John Ruskin supported Millais in letter to the press and in his lecture "Pre-Raphaelitsm"^[4] despite his personal dislike of the painting. Its use of Symbolic Realism led to a wider movement in which typology was combined with detailed observation.

Notes

1. ^ George P. Landow, Typology in the Visual Arts, II. Millais's Christ in the House of His Parents
2. ^ Herbert's painting
3. ^ Dickens, Charles. "Old Lamps for New Ones." Household Words 12 (15 Jun. 1850), 12-14.
4. ^ Recreation of Ruskin talk on Pre-Raphaelitism, 1851

Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, PRA (June 8, 1829 – August 13, 1896) was a British painter and illustrator and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
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Holy Family consists of Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph.

Feast of the Holy Family

The Feast of the Holy Family is a liturgical celebration in the Catholic Church in honour of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his foster
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Joseph "of the House of David" (heb.יוֹסֵף also Saint Joseph, Joseph the Betrothed, Joseph of Nazareth, and Joseph the Worker
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Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens is acclaimed as one of history's greatest novelists
Born: 7 January 1812
Portsmouth, England

Died: 9 May 1870 (aged 58)
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Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (also known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets and critics, founded in 1848 by John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt.
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Realism in the visual arts and literature is the depiction of subjects as they appear in everyday life, without embellishment or interpretation. The term is also used to describe works of art which, in revealing a truth, may emphasize the ugly or sordid.
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Jesus (8–2 BC/BCE to 29–36 AD/CE),^[2] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity, and is also an important figure in several other religions.
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Stigmata are bodily marks, sores, or sensations of pain in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus. The term originates from the line at the end of Saint Paul's Letter to the Galatians where he says, "I bear on my body the marks of Jesus," with "marks" in the
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Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, where the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead.

This form of execution was widely practiced in Ancient Rome and in neighbouring Mediterranean cultures; similar methods were invented in
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Saint Anne (also Ann or Anna) was the mother of The Virgin Mary. Her name Anne is a Greek rendering of a Hebrew name, Hannah. According to the non-canonical Gospel of James, Anne and her husband Joachim, after years of childlessness, were visited by an angel who told them that they
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The Blessed Virgin Mary, sometimes shortened to The Blessed Virgin or The Virgin Mary, is a traditional title specifically used by Roman Catholics, Anglicans, some Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics, and others to describe Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.
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Christianity

Foundations
Jesus Christ
Church Theology
New Covenant Supersessionism
Dispensationalism
Apostles Kingdom Gospel
History of Christianity Timeline
Bible
Old Testament New Testament
Books Canon Apocrypha
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Jacob's Ladder refers to a ladder to heaven described in the Book of Genesis (28:11-19) which the biblical patriarch Jacob envisioned during his flight from his brother Esau:

Jacob left Beersheba, and went toward Haran.

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Columbidae

Subfamilies

see article text

Pigeons and doves constitute the family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerine birds.
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Albrecht DÃ¼rer

Self-Portrait (1500) by Albrecht DÃ¼rer, oil on board, Alte Pinakothek, Munich
Birth name Albrecht DÃ¼rer
May 21 1471
Nuremberg, Germany
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Melencolia I, sometimes known as Melancholia I (using the modern spelling) is an engraving by the German Renaissance master Albrecht DÃ¼rer. It is an allegorical composition which has been the subject of very many interpretations.
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The cultural and artistic events of 15th century Italy are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento (from the Italian for '400, or from "millequattrocento," 1400). Quattrocento encompasses the artistic styles of the late Middle Ages (most notably International Gothic) and the
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TOGA is an acronym used in aviation, standing for Take Off/Go Around. It is used to refer to buttons, often mounted on the throttle quadrant, that allow the engines to quickly be brought to full power, either for take off or in the event of a go around.
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Rickets
Classification & external resources

A family with rickets. Paris, 1900.
ICD-10 E 55.
ICD-9 268

DiseasesDB 9351
MedlinePlus 000344
eMedicine ped/2014

MeSH D012279 Rickets
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Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India from 1 May 1876, until her death on 22 January 1901.
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Medievalism is the study of and/or preference for the (European) Middle Ages.

It appears not to have become a "movement" before the early 20th century in the UK ^[1]
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John Ruskin (February 8, 1819 – January 20, 1900) is best known for his work as an art critic and social critic, but is remembered as an author, poet and artist as well.
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