Joseph And The Child - Pétrus Verhoeven - 18th Century

Joseph and the child, Petrus Verhoeven, 18th century. Very beautiful sculpture with a nice movement of the child, Joseph stands with his mouth open, he holds the child in his arms. The child Jesus grabs Joseph's beard with one hand while the other is buried in his hair. The whole thing exudes a beautiful emotion, not to be missed! This work is attributed to Petrus Verhoeven, active in the Netherlands in the 18th century Petrus Verhoeven (Uden, 1729 - there, 1816) was a wood sculptor. He was the son of a farmer and landowner, and little is known about his childhood and education. He may have attended Latin school and received an education in Antwerp. In any case, it is strongly influenced by Flemish Baroque. Verhoeven worked extensively for barn churches in the area. In his place of residence Uden, belonging to the Land of Ravenstein, there was freedom of religion. He not only made statues, but also altars and even a wooden monstrance from 1782, inspired by an example of a similar silver object that was in the Uden church. At Holthees there is an altar by his hand for the Maria Chapel. Petrus Verhoeven worked mainly for Catholic churches, but he also designed the interior of the Waspik Reformed Church.