Family, Holy

Family, Holy One of the most favorite themes of Christian art, from its earliest period in the Catacombs, has been the presentation of scenes from the infancy and childhood of the Savior. The name "holy family" is given especially to those paintings and sculptures in which the parents, Joseph and Mary, are worshipping the infant Savior, or are holding him up for the adoration of spectators. In a wider sense, it is also applied to the birth of the Savior, the adoration of the magi, of the shepherds, and of the mythical three kings, to the flight into Egypt, the finding of Christ in the Temple disputing with the doctors, and all other scenes from the childhood of Christ that are drawn from the gospels. Accessory figures of angels, saints, and of persons contemporary with Christ or with the artist, and sometimes of the artist or the donor of the painting to the church, are often added. (G.F.C.)