Existing comment:
Wedding Chapel:
Carved by Vincenzo Demetz and Sons in Italy, the statuary of wood overlaid with gold leaf depicts the betrothal of Our Lady and St. Joseph. The sculpture was installed in 1961. Robert Robbins designed the altar.
The probable artistic source is Raphael's early painting of the Marriage of the Virgin, Sposalizio della Vergine, in which the women are pictured on the right side of Our Lady and the men are on the left of St. Joseph.
In this sculpture, St. Ann is the central figure in the group to the left of Mary, accompanied by other female wedding guests. The bearded older man to the right of Joseph is St. Joachim, father of Mary, St. Cleophas, traditionally regarded as a relative of St. Joseph, faces Joachim.
Raphael most likely based Il Spozalizio della Vergine on the medieval Golden Legend of Jacques de Voragine. According to this legend, when the time came to choose a spouse for Mary, all the potential suitors had to submit their staffs to the Chief Priest. Joseph's staff flowered with lilies, indicating that he was the chosen suitor. In frustration, the unsuccessful suitors broke their staffs, as the young man depicted on the far right of this sculpture is doing. Above the group is God the Father with angels, emphasizing that this marriage was the result of Divine Providence. |