St Joseph
by DYCE, William, Oil on canvas, 79 x 55 cm
The pleasure that Dyce’s Virgin and Child gave to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert resulted in the commission a year later of Saint Joseph to form a pair. This was finished in 1847 and was thought by Prince Albert to be finer than the Virgin and Child. Both pictures were hung after Prince Albert’s death in the Queen’s Bedroom at Osborne House, Isle of Wight.
The Virgin and Child and Saint Joseph are both works that in their simplicity of design, purity of outline and restricted colour are comparable with paintings by Overbeck and Schnorr von Carolsfeld.