Cleveland Museum of Art

The Flight into Egypt

Gregorio Pagani

Date

c. 1590

Medium

pen and brown ink and wash, heightened with white, over black chalk, on beige paper

Culture

Italy, 16th century

Department

Drawings

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

In this composition, Gregorio Pagani remained close to the New Testament account of the final episode of Christ’s nativity (Matthew 2:13–23), in which Joseph, Mary, and infant Jesus fled into Egypt after learning that King Herod intended to kill all the male infants of Jerusalem. Staff in hand, Joseph forges ahead while Mary and Jesus follow behind on a donkey. Fluttering angels hover above; one at the left urges the Holy Family onward. Pagani was commissioned by the Médicis to create decorative schemes for their celebrations, and especially for altarpieces for churches and convents, but few of his paintings have survived. He is best known for highly finished, fully realized drawings such as this example in pristine condition.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.