The Flight into Egypt
Historical Context
The Flight into Egypt, painted in 1768 and now in the Metropolitan Museum, is a late devotional work from Tiepolo's Spanish period depicting the Holy Family's escape from Herod's massacre. The painting demonstrates the warm, contemplative quality of Tiepolo's final religious works, when his style had mellowed from the brilliant luminosity of his Venetian peak into a more intimate devotional manner. Created in Madrid during his last years, the painting reflects the influence of Spanish devotional traditions on Tiepolo's late art. The Met's acquisition recognizes the importance of Tiepolo's late Spanish period within his overall artistic development.
Technical Analysis
Executed with bravura brushwork and attention to dramatic foreshortening, the work reveals Giovanni Battista Tiepolo's characteristic approach to composition and surface. The treatment of light and the careful modulation of color create visual richness within a unified pictorial scheme.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the warm, contemplative quality of this late 1768 Metropolitan Museum Flight into Egypt from Tiepolo's Spanish period.
- ◆Look at the bravura brushwork and dramatic foreshortening serving the devotional narrative of the Holy Family's escape.
- ◆Observe the mature religious sensibility of Tiepolo's final years, where his style had softened from the brilliant theatricality of his prime.
