Rest on the Flight into Egypt

1646

An angel guides Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus on their flight from Bethlehem to Egypt to escape King Herod’s persecution. The figures are shown resting near a group of palm trees—an allusion to their destination. The French artist Claude Lorrain spent most of his life in Rome, painting idyllic landscapes adapted from views of the surrounding countryside. This is the only known panel painting by the artist to have survived.

Medium	oil on panel
Dimensions	12 11/16 x 14 15/16 in. (32.2 x 38 cm) Frame: 19 3/4 x 22 1/8 x 2 3/8 in. (50.2 x 56.2 x 6 cm)
Object Number	1955.677
Acquisition	Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955
Status	On View

Image Caption

Claude Lorrain, Rest on the Flight into Egypt, 1646, oil on panel. Clark Art Institute, 1955.677

Select Bibliography

Röthlisberger, Marcel. Claude Lorrain: The Paintings.. 2 vols. New Haven: Yale University Press.. 1961. The British Institution. Pictures by Italian, Spanish,Flemish, Dutch, French, and English Masters, with which the Proprietors Have Favoured the Institution. Exhibition catalogue. London: The British Institution, 1861. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Exhibit Four & Exhibit Seven. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1958. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Exhibit Four & Exhibit Seven, Supplement: West Gallery. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1959. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.. Claude Lorrain: 1600-1682. Oct. 17, 1982-Jan. 2, 1983.. 1982.. Emilia Dilke.. Claude Lorrain.. Paris: J. Rouain.. 1884.. . "More Treasures Emerge at Williamstown, Mass". 58:4. Art News. Summer 1959.. Rich, Alan. Music: Mirror of the Arts. New York: Frederick A. Praeger. 1969. Marcel Röthlisberger.. L'opera completa di Claude Lorrain. (Classici dell'Arte series.). Rizzoli.. 1975.. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1970. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1972. Doretta Cecchi.. L'opera completa di Claude Lorrain.. Milan: Rizzoli.. 1975.. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1984. Kern, Steven, ed. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1992. Rand, Richard. Claude Lorrain, The Painter as Draftsman: Drawings from the British Museum. Exhibition catalogue. New Haven: Yale University Press; WIlliamwtown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2006.

Provenance

Possibly painted for the artist's own collection; Clos collection; sale, Paris, November 18,1812, lot 10; to Lebrun, dealer; Henry Danby Seymour; by descent to Jane Margaret Seymour; Seymour sale, Christie's, London, 1920; Colnaghi's, London; acquired by Robert Sterling Clark in 1921.