Flight into Egypt from Rosario della V. Maria by Castellanus, plate 89 from Woodcuts from Books of the XVI Century
1539, assembled into portfolio 1937
Medium
Woodcut on paper
Dimensions
Image: 13.3 × 8.1 cm (5 1/4 × 3 1/4 in.); Sheet: 15.6 × 10.3 cm (6 3/16 × 4 1/16 in.)
Classification
woodcut
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
132234
Art Historical Context
This delicate woodcut, titled *Flight into Egypt* from *Rosario della V. Maria* byanus (plate 89), captures a pivotal biblical scene from the New Testament: the Holy Family's hurried escape to Egypt to evade King Herod's massacre of the innocents. Created in 1539 as part of a 16th-century Italian devotional book, it exemplifies the era's woodcut technique, where intricate designs were carved into wooden blocks, inked, and pressed onto paper for affordable reproduction. Measuring just 13.3 × 8.1 cm, its intimate scale suited book illustrations, making sacred narratives accessible to everyday re...