Death of Saint Joseph

A red and black chalk drawing on grey-toned paper. Figures gather around a bed in the lower half, one bending low over it, while a cluster of angels or cherubs floats in the upper center beneath a draped canopy. Loose, rapid hatching gives the sheet a sketched, working quality.

Look closer: A small figure or face peers from the upper left corner beside the drapery.

Artist

Anonymous, Italian

Date

Medium

Red and black chalk

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2224 × 3760 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Cephas G. Thompson, 1887