Flight into Egypt

Art Historical Context

**Flight into Egypt** by Sébastien Bourdon captures a pivotal biblical moment from the Gospel of Matthew: the Holy Family's hurried escape to Egypt to evade King Herod's massacre of innocents. Created in the 17th century, this reflects Bourdon's mastery as a French Baroque artist, known for his dramatic compositions blending Caravaggesque tenebrism—deep shadows and intense light—with classical French elegance. Bourdon, who trained in Paris and Rome, often depicted religious narratives with emotional depth, making sacred stories accessible and vivid. Printed on luxurious ivory laid paper, the etching measures a generous plate size of 29.4 × 43.4 cm, allowing intricate details like the figures' expressive faces and flowing drapery to shine. Etching, a revolutionary intaglio technique of the era, involved coating a metal plate with acid-resistant ground, scratching designs, and immersing in acid to etch lines—perfect for reproducing Bourdon's painterly style in multiples. This medium democratized art, bringing high drama to collectors beyond oil paintings. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings department, this work exemplifies 17th-century printmaking's cultural role in spreading Counter-Reformation imagery, inspiring devotion amid Europe's religious upheavals. A testament to Bourdon's versatility, it invites viewers to ponder the human side of divine flight.

About the Artist

Sébastien Bourdon · 1616–1671

Sébastien Bourdon (1616–1671) was a French Baroque painter of remarkable versatility and restless ambition, whose career carried him from the workshops of Paris to the courts of Rome and Stockholm before he returned to France to become a founding member of one of Europe's most important artistic institutions. Born on 2 February 1616 in Montpellier into a Protestant family, Bourdon was apprenticed ...