by Jon Lackman | 18 May 2006 | Renaissance
In a Wall Street Journal article titled “An Art History Mystery Solved?”, Francis P. De Stefano writes: “No great work of art has mystified art historians and critics more than Giorgione’s ‘La Tempesta’ … It is only the depiction of the man and the woman that has deterred experts from recognizing this painting as the ‘Flight Into Egypt.’ Joseph is usually portrayed as an old man by medieval artists. Nevertheless, in the 15th century he began to be depicted as a young, virile carpenter. Italians especially found it unseemly to show Mary being married to an old man … why the nude Madonna? The explanation lies in the Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, a doctrine of which every Venetian would have been aware. Simply put, it was the belief that Mary had been created free from the stain of original sin that every other descendant of Adam and Eve had inherited.” (“Mr. De Stefano is a financial adviser in Westport, Conn. His avocation is history, particularly Italian history and art.”)
