The Marriage of the Virgin
Raphael completed this painting in 1504 for the Citta de Castello, a Franciscan Church. The image, as the name implies, illustrates the wedding between Mary and Joseph. Instead of a biblical scene, the story depicted by Raphael is only a legend. According to the legend, Mary had so many suitors that the High Priest developed a test to see who was the worthiest to wed the woman. Every available man was given a dry rod to place on altar in front of Mary. Whereas none of the other rods flowered, Joseph’s did, and he was able to obtain her hand in marriage.
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