Return to Nazareth
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
unframed: 118.2 × 84.2 cm · framed: 136.5 × 102.5 × 6 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
Accession Number
1974.2
Tags
About this artwork
Upon hearing rumor of a young king born to a virgin in Bethlehem, Herod, the ruler of Judea, jealously developed a plot to find and murder the infant Jesus. Fearing Herod's wrath, the Holy Family escaped to Egypt and eventually returned to Palestine-an echo of the great Exodus of the Old Testament. Conti trained in Rome but eventually made his career in Florence. Even given the pale colors, balletic poses, and attenuated forms, the sharp contrasts of dark and light, with figures emerging from de...