The Return of the Holy Family to Nazareth
Nicolas Poussin·c. 1627
Historical Context
Poussin's Return of the Holy Family to Nazareth from around 1627 is an early Roman work depicting the final stage of the holy family's journey — the return from Egypt after Herod's death. Poussin was beginning to develop his mature classical style in the late 1620s, and this work shows him working toward the architectural figure compositions and Claudean landscapes that would characterize his mature production. The Holy Family's journey — the Flight into Egypt, the sojourn in Egypt, the return to Nazareth — was a subject that allowed the painter to combine sacred narrative with landscape painting, and Poussin's treatment shows his early command of both.
Technical Analysis
The oil on canvas reveals Poussin's early Roman style with warmer colors and softer modeling than his later classical manner, combining narrative clarity with atmospheric landscape elements.
Provenance
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio; (Rosenberg and Stiebel, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art); Frederick Mont and Newhouse Galleries, New York, NY, sold to Rosenberg and Stiebel)1; Princes of Liechtenstein, Vienna, and later, Vaduz1
