Though the Palazzo Chigi in
Ariccia is filled with many wonders, I think the most wonderful is this simple painting by
Gian Lorenzo Bernini. And the subject is not all that common - the normal devotional painting is Madonna with Child but here the infant Christ is held by his Earthly father San Giuseppe (
Saint Joseph).
It was executed in 1623 for the chapel of the Palazzo and is one of Bernini's rare paintings. And it is the only known work actually signed by the artist. All religious significance aside I find it an incredible vision of paternal love.
11 lulgio - San Benedetto da Norcia
