In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • St. Joseph in Italian Renaissance Society and Art: New Directions and Interpretations
  • John Tokaz,
St. Joseph in Italian Renaissance Society and Art: New Directions and Interpretations. By Carolyn C. Wilson . (Philadelphia: Saint Joseph’s University Press. 2001. Pp. xxiv, 281. $49.95.)

In her intriguing and substantial book Dr. Carolyn Wilson's primary purpose seems to be originality. Initially she sets out to explore and establish the origins of the cult and devotion to St. Joseph in the pre-Tridentine period. In doing so she explicitly attempts to discredit the notion prevalent among many historians of art, of the Roman Catholic Church, and of spirituality that any devotion or cultic activity concerning the person of St. Joseph, husband of the virgin Mary and non-biological father of Jesus Christ, developed only after the Council of Trent and in the context of the seventeenth century. Dr. Wilson proceeds to support her thesis by re-examining in an original and thorough way a plethora of texts, both written and visual, which come from as early as the eleventh century but are mostly concentrated in the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteen centuries.

Using a methodology developed and proposed by Dr. Margaret Miles in her notable work, Image As Insight (Boston: Beacon Press, 1985), Dr. Wilson compares and contrasts written texts with visual evidence in a new and original manner. The number of written and visual texts that she presents and examines is both impressive and comprehensive. In her extensive and careful research, Dr. Wilson has uncovered some important and notable sources by which she is able to maintain her theory that the cult of and devotion to St. Joseph did indeed pre-exist the Council of Trent and the seventeenth century. Her presentation of the visual evidence is exceptional and innovative. Some of the most interesting and valuable discussions involve such paintings as "St. Joseph and the Christ Child with a Shepherd," by Martino da Udine, "St. Joseph," by Paolo Morando, and "Madonna and Child Enthroned with St. Joseph, John the Evangelist, John the Baptist, Francis, and James," by Pontormo. These paintings dating from the early 1500's are outstanding examples of Josephite imagery that certainly reflect a cultic and devotional influence. Coupled with written texts, the visual texts provide a strong foundation upon which Dr. Wilson can and does build her argument. Furthermore, Dr. Wilson adds generous amounts of architectural evidence of worship spaces dedicated to St. Joseph in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. She also provides sources that demonstrate how cult and devotion to St. Joseph was often based on realized and hoped-for miraculous solutions to political and military dangers and dilemmas.

Perhaps the weakness in her presentation is the unavoidable ambiguity that one encounters when one uses the visual image as a theological text. The visual image, by its nature, is open to multiple interpretations and can have an abundance of possible messages. Moreover, the message intended by the artist, the donor, or the official church is not always the one which may have been received. In fact, most visual images carry with them messages that can and do vary according to the viewer. Dr. Wilson, as any viewer, considers the visual evidence [End Page 781] through a particular lens of her particular prejudice and theoretical disposition. In other words, she sees what she wants to see.

For example, in her treatment of "The Nativity with Annunciation to Shepherds" by Dosso she states, "... Dosso's figure of the saint [Joseph] is visually emphasized through its reverberations with the figure of God the Father above. These are set in motion by the similarities in the two figures' physiognomies and in the direction of their postures and heads" (p. 46). This particular interpretation would be stronger if other figures in the painting did not also have similar physiognomies, postures, and even haircuts and beards. One wonders if Dr. Wilson might not be reading a bit too much into an artist's repetitive stylized technique.

In another instance Dr. Wilson interprets the staff placed between the legs of St. Joseph as, "... a visual metaphor for Joseph's surrogate paternity..." (p. 32). She repeats this interpretation several times in the text neglecting...

pdf

Share