Christ in the House of His Parents

John Everett Millais rendered this Christ in the House of His Parents in 1849-50, depicting the Holy Family in a working carpenter's shop. The young Jesus has cut his hand on a nail, blood dripping onto his foot and prefiguring the Crucifixion. Mary kneels in concern while Joseph examines the wound. A carpenter's triangle above Christ's head symbolizes the Trinity.

The painting caused a scandal at the 1850 Royal Academy exhibition. Critics attacked its realistic depiction of a humble workshop, including dirt on the floor. Charles Dickens savaged it in Household Words, calling the young Christ "a hideous, wry-necked, blubbering, red-headed boy." The Times called the painting "revolting."

Queen Victoria asked to view the painting privately at Buckingham Palace. Despite the hostility, John Ruskin defended the Pre-Raphaelite movement, and the controversy made the group famous. The painting hangs at Tate Britain in London, a landmark of Victorian art controversy.