La Sainte Famille
Artist
Nicolas Mignard
(French, 1606 - 1668)
Date1659
Mediumoil on canvas
DimensionsImage: 36 5/8 × 44 1/4 in. (93 × 112.4 cm)
Frame: 46 1/4 × 53 7/8 × 2 11/16 in. (117.5 × 136.8 × 6.8 cm)
Frame: 46 1/4 × 53 7/8 × 2 11/16 in. (117.5 × 136.8 × 6.8 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of Benedict A. Silverman and Allan S. Frank, 1981
Object number1980.23
DescriptionThe holy family is shown resting in a tranquil late afternoon landscape with views of Avignon in the background. In the middle background is the Mignard family chapel for which this work was destined. It glows with the serene faith that this artist was adept at portraying and with its jewel-like but muted colors it gives a great feeling of power.eMuseum Notes
In 1659, Nicolas Mignard
(1606—1668) painted La Sainte Famille
(The Holy Family) in Avignon, France,
visible in the background of the painting. As Mary, Joseph, the Infant Jesus
and John the Baptiste turn towards each other, their bodies form a pyramid
which embodies the Classical style. The light breaks from behind the clouds and
suffuses the painting with a warm glow, accenting the brilliant colors of the
robes. The idealized features of the holy family are found in many of the
Spanish colonial paintings which eventually came to New Mexico. It is
interesting to compare the historical events surrounding this painting in
France with the concurrent historical events in New Mexico where the painting
now resides. Nicolas Mignard was a member of the court of Louis XIV, the Sun
King. France was the center of taste and fashion in 17th century Europe. The Classic
Style - calculated, formal and elegant - was favored both by the Court and by
the Catholic Church. The power of the ecclesiastical establishment in France
was demonstrated by Cardinal Richelieu, who advised Louis XIII and Louis XIV.
The Church and State worked together in France. The favored painters, Nicolas
Poussin, Claude Lorraine, and Pierre and Nicolas Mignard, used their skills to
reinforce the grandeur and stability of those institutions. The alliance of
Church and State in colonial New Mexico was fragmented. At the date of this
painting, 1659, Spain’s poorest Northern colony was in the midst of crisis
culminating in the Pueblo Rebellion of 1680. The Spanish Inquisition which was
strong in Mexico provided an outlet for the various grievances which Church and
civil authorities had against one another. In 1657, the Viceroy of Mexico
approved for New Mexico twenty additional Franciscan missionaries and a new
provincial governor, Don Bernardo Lopez de Mendizábal, who took office in 1659.
At the same time three important churches were begun:
Nuestra Señora de Halona (Zuni), San Buenaventura de las Humanas (Gran
Quivera), Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe del Paso del Rio del Norte (El Paso, Texas).
Mendizábal
was governor for two years before he was brought before the Inquisition with
thirty three charges against him. These included allowing the Indians to dance
the katchinas, persecuting missionaries, and having improper relations with his
female Apache servants. He was replaced by Don Diego Dioniso de Peñalosa Briceño
y Berdigo who also appeared before the Inquisition, was convicted and exiled to
Europe. Peñalosa went to France, appealed to Louis XIV for money to sponsor an
expedition to the Southern United States, and expedition ultimately undertaken
by La Salle. While Peñalosa was governor of New Mexico there was a time of
relative peace in the colony.
On View
Not on view
