Curatorial Notes
One of the most influential landscape painters of the early modern era, Lorrain was a master of the “ideal landscape,” which combined lush foliage and a tranquil atmosphere with allusions to an idyllic, imaginary past. The intention was to create views more beautiful and harmonious than nature itself. In the foreground of this soaring landscape, the Holy Family rests on a shady bank as kneeling angels offer fruit to the Christ child. Landscape paintings like this were much in demand among wealthy collectors throughout Europe, for whom these expansive idealized scenes represented a calm retreat from their hectic city lives.
Artwork Identification
Title Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Title (PT) Descanso na Fuga para o Egito
Title (ES) Descanso en la Huida a Egipto
Artist Claude Lorrain
Artist Bio Claude Lorrain (French, 1604–1682)
Date early 1640s
Work Type Painting
Location & Collection
Institution Cleveland Museum of Art
Source View Museum Page
License Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0