A picture of Joseph and his child or Jesus and his child?

Dear Reader,
I found this picture on a Russian site for art and the only explanation I have found about the picture is the title "St Joseph and the Christ child". I'm afraid I don't have the painter’s name, and maybe it is an icon and the painter is unknown.

What do you see in this picture? The moment I saw it I was struck by the tenderness between a Jewish man and his child and the connection between a father and his child when they look at each other. And then my eyes fell on the cross.
Would a Jewish man carve a wooden cross and give his son as a toy? Never. The Romans used to kill their enemies with that barbaric instrument of torture. It was a hellish construction that was made to cause the most possible pain and agony for the victim. Indeed not a toy .But the painter is telling us yet another story in the picture and if you have read your Bible you know that Jesus would die on a cross 33 years later. Joseph is holding his son in his arms and in my imagination Jesus is not just his foster son but his very own son and his wish for his child is only the best life can bring. Joseph has his Tallit (prayer shawl) on and maybe he has just prayed for and blessed his son with a prayer for protection and guidance from God.

Before I saw the title of the picture, I thought it was the other way around; that Jesus was holding a child. You know the story about Jesus gathering the children; blessing them, and telling the disciples and the mothers that the children belong to the Kingdom of Heaven, right? In my mind as much as Joseph is holding Jesus; Jesus is reaching out to Joseph and with his hand reaching up to Joseph face he says "I'm holding you because of my cross" The cross was not on Joseph's list of what Jesus should achieve during his life but on God's list over what he could do for mankind the cross was number one.

Easter is just around the corner and we are once again reminded of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and HIS atonement for our sins. But not only at Easter is this fact but also every other day of the year. Man was created in the image of the Son but man can never become Christ-like if it were not for the cross. Jesus is holding us up before God saying:
It is finished; I have done the ultimate sacrifice for every man and from now on Salvation is free for the one accepting it" Joseph is holding Jesus in the picture but Jesus is holding you and me in real life; because of the cross.
Sincerely yours
Ida