Christ among the Doctors

Master of the Catholic Kings · c. 1495/1497
National Gallery of Art, Washington

This panel comes from an altarpiece painted in Castile in the 1490s, in the time of Ferdinand and Isabella, the “Catholic Kings”, after whom its unknown painter is named. Its style mixes Spanish taste with the precise, glowing oil painting of Flanders.

The temple has become a Gothic church with stained glass and statues. The boy Jesus sits on a stone throne under a red canopy, touching his fingertips together as if counting off points; the teachers around him hold their books, and Mary arrives at the right.

From the text

Jesus at twelve, in Jerusalem for the Passover (Luke 2:42)

Found in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers (Luke 2:46)

“all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding” (Luke 2:47)

His mother finds him: “Child, why have You done this to us?” (Luke 2:48)

The artist’s own

The temple shown as a Gothic church of the painter’s day

The teachers in turbans, hoods and fur caps of the fifteenth century

A street with stepped gables, like a town in Flanders, through the arch

Details

The boy Jesus

On a white stone throne under a red brocade canopy, he touches his fingertips together.

The teachers

Men in turbans, hoods and caps; two hold open books.

The great book

A large book with red initials lies open under a teacher’s hand.

Mary

In a white head-cloth and dark mantle, she joins her hands.

A view outside

Through an arch: houses with stepped gables.

Master of the Catholic Kings, Spanish, active c. 1485/1500. National Gallery of Art, Washington (Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.43) · Oil on panel · NGA Open Access: "Images of these works are available free of charge for any use, commercial or non-commercial, under Creative Commons Zero (CC0)." (NGA open data: published_images.csv openaccess = 1)

The verses

Luke 2:41–51Every year His parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the Feast. When those days were over and they were returning home, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but His parents were unaware He had stayed. Assuming He was in their company, they traveled on for a day before they began to look for Him among their relatives and friends. When they could not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him. Finally, after three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers. When His parents saw Him, they were astonished. “Child, why have You done this to us?” His mother asked. “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.” “Why were you looking for Me?” He asked. “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand the statement He was making to them. Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But His mother treasured up all these things in her heart.