Infancy Gospel of James – JOSEPH THE CARPENTER

The Portrayal of Joseph in Nicola Pisano’s Nativity Panels in the Pulpit in the Baptistry of Pisa

Panel from the Baptistry of Pisa: the Annunciation to Mary (Mary in the center with Gabriel to the top right of her), the Nativity (center-right), the Annunciation to the Shepherds (top and bottom right), and the Bathing of the Christ child (bottom-center left) all together.

Nicola Pisano created six marble panels in his pulpit in the Baptistry of Pisa in 1260. Three of the panels represent several different events recorded in the canonic accounts of the nativity and childhood of Jesus found in the first two chapters of the gospels of Matthew and Luke as well as one event referenced in later apocryphal narratives.

Philip Jacobs teaches Art History at Newberry College, South Carolina. Prior to this, he taught in the Humanities Department at Cape Fear Community College and in Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington, North Carolina. In addition to 18 years as a professor, he has been awarded grants for his research in different aspects of art history, including for his work concerning the historical reception of Joseph of Nazareth in Christian literature and art.

He is the author of several books, e-books, and journal articles, including A Guide to the Study of Greco-Roman and Jewish and Christian History and Literature, The Life and Photography of Doris Ulmann, a Glossary of Foreign Terms for the Study of Works of Art on Paper and Books, Joseph the Carpenter: His Reception in Literature and Art from the Second to the Ninth Century, and The Other Person in the Picture: The Portrayal and Interpretation of Joseph the Carpenter.