The Holy Family on their flight into Egypt
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 11 7/16 x 7 3/4 in. (29 x 19.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
Accession Number
17.50.17-40
Tags
Art Historical Context
In Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione’s etching “The Holy Family on their flight into Egypt,” created around 1647, the artist portrays the biblical journey of Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus as they seek safety in Egypt. The scene includes protective angels alongside humble donkeys and sheep, blending the sacred with the everyday world of travel and nature. This modest-sized print, roughly 11 by 8 inches, captures a moment of quiet urgency through careful line work typical of the medium. Castiglione, known as Il Grechetto, was an Italian Baroque artist celebrated for his expressive etchings th...
About the Artist
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto)|Giovanni Domenico de Rossi · 1609–1664
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, known as Il Grechetto, was baptized on March 23, 1609, in Genoa and died on May 5, 1664, in Mantua. Born into a large family, he collaborated closely with his brother Salvatore, an artist who shared his talents, and later taught his son Francesco, whose works were sometimes confused with his own. His parents placed him in the studio of Giovanni Battista Paggi, where...