CLAUDE LORRAIN
(b. 1604, Chamagne, d. 1682, Roma)

Rest on the Flight into Egypt

1646
Oil on panel, 32 x 38 cm
The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

An angel guides Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus on their flight from Bethlehem to Egypt to escape King Herod's persecution. The figures are shown resting near a group of palm trees - an allusion to their destination.

The French artist Claude Lorrain spent most of his life in Rome, painting idyllic landscapes adapted from views of the surrounding countryside. This is the only known panel painting by the artist to have survived.