Chapel of St. Joseph
Antwerp Cathedral. Chapel of St Joseph altarpiece. In the central niche of the retable is a statue of Saint Joseph with the infant Jesus on his arm carved by Jan-Baptist De Boeck and Jan-Baptist Van Wint in 1871. Around it, seven polychrome tableaus evoke scenes from the life of Jesus. The most striking one is of a young Jesus learning his foster father’s craft: Jesus, on his knees, is holding a pair of compasses and is looking up at Joseph, who is planning boards at his bench. While behind Joseph is a rack with carpenter’s tools, there is also a shelf with books behind Mary. She is praying from a book, which does not prevent her from watching her growing child. The painted wings by Louis Hendrickx (1873) draw attention to their astonishing details and the warm hues of textiles. In the upper sections, they illustrate the patronage of Saint Joseph: on the left (iconographically right) Pope Pius proclaims him patron of the Church, and on the right, King Charles II of Spain dedicates the Southern Low Countries to him in 1679.
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Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830 and was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. It has prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. Tensions bet... ... read more 
