The Miracle of the Rod

In Raphael’s The Marriage of the Virgin (Milan, Pinacoteca di Brera, 1504), the marriage takes place in the forecourt of the Temple of Jerusalem. It is officiated by the mitered high priest Abiathar, flanked by Mary in red and blue and a bearded Joseph draped in yellow and proffering a ring. The Temple is a centrally planned domical structure in the best High Renaissance style and is meant to evoke the classicizing architecture of Jesus’ day.

Raphael has moved the Miracle of the Rod to center stage. The male onlookers to our right are none too happy as they have been bested by the miraculous flowering of Joseph’s rod. Joseph holds this rod, which bears a triune set of buds, as he might hold a scepter, befitting one who is about to become the spouse of the future Queen of Heaven. Two of the suitors attempt to break their rods in disgust; one is shown in the foreground bending it over his knee; another just behind bends his in an effort to snap it. Mary’s kinswomen are shown grouped at our left, but really to the preferred right—or dexter—side of the priest, while the less favored suitors are shown to his left—or sinister—side. The perspective of the scene, culminating in the open doors of the Temple, is stunning. The young Raphael was obviously quite proud of the work. He signed his name in incised letters over the Temple’s central portal—RAPHAEL URBINAS—dating it in Roman numerals, MDIIII, just below.