Het huwelijk van Maria en Jozef 1604 - 1610

Rutilio Manetti made this drawing of the Marriage of the Virgin, Maria and Joseph, using pen and brush in the early 17th century. The composition presents the biblical scene as a public event within a perspectivally ordered, classical architectural space. In early modern Europe, marriage was less about romantic love than it was about social alliance, economic stability, and political maneuvering. Artists like Manetti thus played a vital role in visually constructing and reinforcing these social norms. This drawing was made in Italy, a place where the Catholic Church was a powerful social institution. The marriage ceremony is presided over by a priest wearing a mitre, and is taking place in a church; both of these features would confirm the importance of the institution of the church for the people of Italy. By studying archival documents, such as marriage records, guild regulations, and religious treatises, we can better understand the social conditions that shaped artistic production in Manetti’s time. Art provides us with a window into the past, but its meaning is always contingent on its social and institutional context.