The Holy Family at Nazareth, Luke 2:52 Wall Art

A family at work

The scene is set inside a small stone workshop. On the left, Joseph stands in a rust apron over a blue-gray tunic, bending toward his son with one hand on the board. In the middle, the boy Jesus, around ten, in a white robe, pushes a plane along the plank with evident concentration. On the right, Mary sits on a wooden stool in a white veil and a blue mantle lined with red, her hands resting on the bench, smiling at the two of them.

Chisels and a saw hang on the wall behind Joseph. A clay jar stands in the corner, a toolbox sits on the floor among curls of shavings, and through an open window we glimpse a cypress, a leafy branch and the houses of the town. Above, in brown script: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature,” then Luke 2:52.

The hidden years in Luke 2

Luke is the only Gospel to tell us anything about Jesus between his infancy and his baptism as an adult. When he was twelve, the family went up to Jerusalem for Passover; on the way home his parents realized he was missing, and after three days found him in the temple, listening to the teachers and asking them questions. Luke then says he went down to Nazareth with them “and was subject unto them.”

Verse 52 closes the chapter, and the full sentence reads: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” It echoes what the Old Testament says of the boy Samuel, who grew in favor with the Lord and with men (1 Samuel 2:26). Christians have long found it striking: roughly thirty years of the life of Jesus are covered by this one line, spent in a village, in a family, learning a trade.

That is why the Holy Family became a model for Christian homes. In the Catholic calendar, the first Sunday following Christmas is dedicated to the Holy Family, and the Finding in the Temple is the fifth of the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary.

A blessing for a new home

Because it shows a family at home together, this print is chosen as a housewarming gift or for a home blessing, and it suits a kitchen, a dining room or a family room. Catholic parents also give it at a baptism, as a picture of the home they hope to build around their child.