Rest on Flight into Egypt
n.d.
Medium
Pen and brown ink with graphite and brush and white gouache, on tan laid paper laid down on ivory laid card
Dimensions
23 × 29.3 cm (9 1/16 × 11 9/16 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
84422
Art Historical Context
Guido Reni's *Rest on Flight into Egypt captures a tender moment from the biblical narrative of the Holy Family's escape from King Herod's massacre of the innocents. Painted in the early 17th century by this Bolognese master of the Baroque era, the drawing depicts Mary, Joseph, and the Christ Child pausing in their journey, evoking serenity amid peril—a theme Reni revisited often in his graceful, idealized style influenced by the Carracci family and classical antiquity. Executed in pen and brown ink with graphite, brush, and white gouache on tan laid paper, this preparatory study showcases Re...
About the Artist
Guido Reni · 1575–1642
Guido Reni (1575–1642) was one of the most celebrated Italian painters of the Baroque era and the dominant figure of the Bolognese School. Born into a family of musicians in Bologna, he trained first with Denys Calvaert before joining the influential Accademia degli Incamminati led by Ludovico Carracci. Reni achieved international fame through his idealizing style that combined Baroque dynamism wi...