Saint Joseph with Three Musical Angels sculpture

This carved wooden sculpture reprises the group of Saint Joseph with Three Musical Angels, after a model attributed to Adriaen van Wesel. The composition is organised around the monumental figure of Joseph, leaning forward with one hand raised to his forehead in a gesture of contemplation or weariness. At his feet, three angels form a lively ensemble: one plays a keyboard string instrument, another holds a vielle, while the third accompanies the scene on a lute. Their broadly spread wings structure the space and link the figures in an upward movement.
Carved from a single block of wood, the work combines sculpture in the round with deeply cut relief. The figures were shaped with chisels and gouges, then refined in details such as the locks of hair, folds of drapery, feathers of the wings and strings of the instruments. Visible tool marks on the reverse contrast with the smoother, varnished finish of the front, whose brown patina emphasises the relief and heightens the play of light and shadow.
The sculpture’s value lies in the density of its composition, the variety of its poses and the richness of its musical iconography. It should not, however, be regarded as the original medieval work, but as a carved interpretation of a model now held by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Its maker remains unidentified, despite the presence of an incised inscription at the base.