''The Flight into Egypt'' is a 1647–1650 oil on canvas painting by

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( , ; late December 1617, baptized January 1, 1618April 3, 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contempor ...

, which since 1948 has been in the

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is a museum institution located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It has list of largest art museums, one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it cove ...

. It shows the

flight into Egypt The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:13–Matthew 2:23, 23) and in New Testament apocrypha. Soon after the Biblical Magi, visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Saint Joseph, Joseph in a dream telling ...

, a popular motif in Christian art from the 14th century onwards. It first appears in the written record whilst in the collection of Sir William Chapman in London, passing through other British collections until its sale at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

in London in 1945. It was bought by

Maurice Harris Wilbur Maurice Harris (born February 21, 1976), nicknamed "Sugar Moe", is the former United States Boxing Association heavyweight champion. A professional competitor since 1992, he holds notable victories over Siarhei Liakhovich, David Izon, Jam ...

, who took it to New York and donated it to its present home later that decade. Diego Angulo's ''Catálogo crítico'' lists at least two other treatments of that subject, namely the c.1660 one in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest and a 1645-1650 very similar but slightly larger version of the Detroit work now in the

Palazzo Bianco Palazzo Bianco () is one of the main buildings of the center of Genoa, Italy. It is situated at 11, via Garibaldi (known at one time as ''Strada Nuova'', and before that, ''Via Aurea''). It is one of the Palazzi dei Rolli, but it is not listed by ...

in Genoa. The Budapest version adds two small angels hovering over the scene, whilst the main figures of Joseph, Mary and the Christ Child travel in the opposite direction to the Detroit work, while the Genoa version seems to have been painted for La Merced Calzada church in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, where it remained until being looted in 1810 by

Marshal Soult Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman. He was a Marshal of the Empire during the Napoleonic Wars, and served three times as President of the Council of ...

. VV. AA. (2010). Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla y Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, ed. ''El joven Murillo.'' pp. 278-281. «Catálogo de la exposición».

References

1640s paintings New Testament paintings by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo Murillo Paintings in the Detroit Institute of Arts Donkeys in art {{1640s-painting-stub

See also

References