Antonio Delgado; painter active in Mexico, 18th century.

ANTONIO DELGADO; painter active in Mexico, 18th century.
"St. Joseph with Child", 1771.
Oil on copper.
Signed and dated in the lower zone.
Measurements: 48 x 38 cm; 64 x 54 cm (frame).
This work is an outstanding example of the novo-Hispanic religious painting, executed with oil on copper technique. This technique, less common than oil on canvas, was highly appreciated for the luminosity and fineness of detail it allows, attributes that are clearly manifested in this painting. The choice of support also reveals a devotional or domestic commission, as these works were usually intended for private prayer spaces, which increases their historical and cultural value.
The image shows St. Joseph tenderly holding the Child Jesus, who appears erect, with his right hand raised in an attitude of blessing and the left hand holding a small cross, a prefigurative symbol of his future passion. St. Joseph, for his part, carries a staff of lilies in bloom, a traditional iconography that alludes to his purity and his divine election as husband of Mary and earthly father of Jesus. The loving and protective gesture of the saint, together with the serenity of his face, transmits a clear message of spiritual paternity and tenderness, aspects that in colonial art begin to acquire greater emphasis in the representation of the patriarchal saint.
The composition is inscribed within an oval that accentuates the intimacy of the bond between the characters, and the treatment of light, subtle and soft, highlights the faces and the folds of the vestments, showing the technical skill of the author. The warm tones of St. Joseph's mantle, in contrast with the whites and reds of the Child, contribute to a symbolic reading of divine love and innocence. In addition, the signature "Ant. Delgado fecit 1771" attests to the painter's authorship and places the work within an artistic context in which the Novo-Hispanic workshops were already fully consolidated, producing works of notable quality and strong religious content.