The Flight into Egypt
Abraham van Diepenbeeck
1640–1660
- Medium
- Oil on panel
- Dimensions
- 43.8 × 31.8 cm (17 1/4 × 12 1/2 in.); Framed: 64.8 × 53.4 × 10.2 cm (25 1/2 × 21 × 4 in.)
- Genre
- Oil on panel
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
paintingpaintMountainwomanoil on panelVirgin and child/Madonna and childpanel paintingoil paint (paint)painting (image making)17th Centurypainting techniquesdonkeysholy familylandscapeChristian subjectsmanAngelsorganic materialchildrenPuttioil paintingwoman with childrenpanel (wood)european paintingChristianitycowstravelpaths
About
The flight into Egypt—a common subject in European art—refers to an episode in the life of Christ when his family fled King Herod, who sought to kill the infant Jesus. Abraham van Diepenbeeck made the theme his own by including an angel and the inquisitive cow at bottom right. This panel was not intended to be a finished painting; it is instead a grisaille (monochrome grey) oil sketch, which was then translated into an engraving. Collaborating with printmakers could be lucrative for painters while also providing an opportunity to advertise their artistry more widely.
