The Flight into Egypt

Artist Nicolas Poussin (French, 1594–1665)

Date1627–1628

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensionscanvas: 102.9 x 127.6 cm (40 1/2 x 50 1/4 in.)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Terms

Object number1977.111

DescriptionAt left, Joseph, in dark yellow drapery, holds a stick in his right hand and extends his left arm toward the right. In the center, the Virgin, clothed in red, blue and white, holds the Christ Child and rides a brown donkey. Leading the group at the right is an angel dressed in light yellow and pointing to the right. Behind the angel are two more angels, who are shown in the sky, moving to the right. A putto, who points to the right, flies behind the Virgin and Child.
Label TextConsidered one of Europe's greatest painters in his own time, Nicolas Poussin was trained in France but spent most of his career in Rome. There he was able to devote himself mainly to small-scale pictures for a cultivated audience. Concentrating on religious and mythological themes, Poussin stressed the interpretation of subject matter, an approach to painting that had a long influence on French art. This work, which has been dated around 1627-28, would have been painted during Poussin's early years in Rome when he was experimenting with a variety of artistic styles. Here the painter works with figures in a large scale, arranging them in a shallow space similar to the compositions he would have seen on ancient Roman bas-reliefs. Several passages of intense coloring also suggest the influence of Venetian painting. Through their gestures, the figures all help to convey Poussin's interpretation of the Biblical account. Three angels and a winged child (putto) are shown pointing the way toward Egypt while the Virgin protectively embraces the Christ Child and Saint Joseph guards the group from the rear. To indicate the actual flight, Poussin shows the figures and the donkey all advancing to the right, a movement that is carefully counterbalanced by the various glances back to the left.ProvenanceRev. Heneage-Finch, purchased 1825; by descent to Colonel John Charles Wynne Finch (1891-1982), Voelas, Bettws-y-Coed, Caernarvonshire, Wales; sold Sotheby's, 4 July 1956, lot 142; purchased by Armitage; sold Sotheby's, 20 November 1957, lot 111; purchased by Sir Laurence Gowing (1918-1991); sold Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London; purchased by the Museum, 1977.

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