The marriage of Mary and Joseph. Etching after C. Maratta.

Mary, having reached adolescence, must be given to a husband, or else she will 'pollute' the Temple. A lottery is held. Joseph's 'rod', which he holds here in his right hand, undergoes a miraculous flowering and he is allotted the Virgin against his will. Here he is represented as he is in the Protevangelium, as an old man