The Rest on the Flight into Egypt (recto)

Cleveland Museum of Art

The Rest on the Flight into Egypt (recto)

Luc-Olivier MersonLinkedCulture matchlcp-f78370223695

Date
c. 1879–80
Medium
gray and graphite wash, with scraping and traces of black chalk
Culture
France, 19th century
Department
Drawings
Institution
Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID
159876

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

This drawing relates to Luc-Olivier Merson's Rest on the Flight into Egypt, among the most popular paintings exhibited at the 1879 Paris Salon. This dream-like, highly unusual image from the familiar bible story shows Mary and Christ resting peacefully in the arms of a Sphinx, while Joseph sleeps near their dwindling fire. In the wake of its extraordinary success, Merson made several painted replicas of the work. Here, the composition is identical, but reversed, suggesting that it may have been an alternative version of the canvas. It is possible that this drawing served as a model for a print, but the best-known printed reproduction of the painting differs from the sheet in several minor details.

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Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line
John L. Severance Fund
Provenance
Galerie David Jones, Paris | Galerie David Jones, Paris

Part of a LinkedCulture topic

  • Representative object from the topic Rest on Flight into Egypt
    Rest on Flight into Egypt

    These objects all depict the biblical scene of the Holy Family resting during their flight into Egypt, a popular subject in Christian art across different European artistic traditions and media.

    130 objects from 6 institutions

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