Visitation – JOSEPH THE CARPENTER

The Portrayal of Joseph the Carpenter in Nicola and Giovanni Pisano’s Duomo Pulpit in the Siena Cathedral

Between 1265 and 1268, Nicola Pisano sculpted the seven marble panels of the Duomo pulpit in the Siena Cathedral with the assistance of his son, Giovanni. However, only two, the first of the Visitation, the Nativity, and the Annunciation of Shepherds, and the second, of the Adoration of the Magi, include representations of the figure of Joseph.

Marble panel of different Bible scenes: the Visitation (top left), the Nativity (center), the Bathing of the Christ-child (bottom left), and the Annunciation to the shepherds (right half). Mary and Joseph border the left and right of all the figures inside. — *The Visitation, Bathing of the Christ Child, Nativity, and the Annunciation to the Shepherds*

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.