Flight into Egypt (Titian)

Painting by Titian

Not to be confused with Rest on the Flight into Egypt (Titian).

Flight into Egypt

Artist| Titian
Year| c. 1508–1509
Medium| Oil on canvas
Dimensions| 206 cm × 336 cm (81 in × 132 in)
Location| Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg
Accession| ГЭ-245

The Flight into Egypt is an oil painting usually attributed to the Venetian Renaissance master Titian. This very early work by Titian was made in about 1508 or 1509. The painting is in the collection of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.[1] A religious landscape painting, its "bold brushwork and exhilarating use of color" have led to it being described as one of Titian's masterpieces, as well as one of his earliest.[2] Though some scholars dispute the attribution of the painting to Titian, it is usually accepted as one of his works from the beginning of his career.[3]

## Subject

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Flight into Egypt depicts the biblical voyage of the newborn Jesus, along with Mary and Joseph as described in the Gospel of Matthew.[4] The Gospel describes the Holy Family fleeing as the result of a vision from an angel, who told Joseph to bring them to Egypt since King Herod would be coming to kill the baby Jesus.[5] The painting thus takes on a dual role. It is simultaneously a religious painting, depicting the Holy Family's journey, and a landscape painting, using the Flight as the subject for a classic pastoral scene. Titian would later revisit the subject of the Flight into Egypt in his later work Rest on the Flight into Egypt around 1512.[3] That later painting, roughly 10 feet by 5 feet, appears consistent with the earlier work, in that both Mary and Joseph wear the same clothing as they do in Flight into Egypt, and they physically appear the same, suggesting the possibility that Titian used the same models for both paintings.[6]

## The Painting

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Flight into Egypt is painted on a relatively large canvas, measured at around 11 feet by 7.5 feet.[2] The painting itself is defined by its diverse use of color, albeit muted tones. Green in particular dominates the canvas, helping to set the stage for the painting's classification as a pastoral landscape.[2] Although landscapes were not particularly popular subjects for artists during the Renaissance, especially in Italian painting, Titian uses the setting of the Holy Family's flight to illustrate an idealized landscape.[7] In addition to the depiction of the donkey being ridden by Mary and the baby Jesus, other animals are depicted in the landscape, including deer and an ox. Also in the background is the depiction of a shepherd tending to his flock, serving to solidify Flight into Egypt partially as a pastoral painting, while also possibly functioning symbolically as a reference to the traditional view of Jesus in Christianity as the "good shepherd".[8]

Generally speaking, however, Flight into Egypt is primarily a religious history painting, depicting one of the earliest events in the life of Jesus described in the Gospels. Continuing during the time of the Renaissance, religious paintings depicting Christian imagery and biblical events remained the most prestigious genre of painting in Europe, contributing to the process of active faith among members of the Catholic Church.[9] Flight into Egypt embraces the religious painting genre by utilizing the thematic trope of the Madonna and Christ Child, one of the most popular subjects of the genre, especially during the Renaissance. Although the members of Holy Family, the main subjects of the painting, are not directly centered in the canvas, their representation is framed around this central image of Mary and Jesus, with Mary, regarded as the greatest saint within Catholicism, caring for the infant Jesus on the family's journey to safety in Egypt.

## See also

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* List of works by Titian
* Flight into Egypt

## References

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1. ^ "Flight into Egypt". Hermitage.
2. ^ a b c "Titian's First Masterpiece: The Flight into Egypt | Past exhibitions | National Gallery, London". www.nationalgallery.org.uk. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
3. ^ a b "The Burlington Magazine". www.burlington.org.uk. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
4. ^ Matthew 2:13-23
5. ^ Matthew 2:13
6. ^ "Rest on the Flight into Egypt". Museo del Prado. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
7. ^ "Landscapes, Classical to Modern Curriculum (Education at the Getty)". www.getty.edu. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
8. ^ John 10:11
9. ^ Sorabella, Authors: Jean. "Painting the Life of Christ in Medieval and Renaissance Italy | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History". The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Retrieved 28 November 2023.

## Sources

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* "Flight into Egypt". The State Hermitage Museum. Retrieved 27 October 2022.

## Further reading

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Titian's Flight into Egypt, c. 1508–1509 (remastered colour)

* Artemieva, Irvana (January 2012). "New light on Titian's "Flight into Egypt" in the Hermitage". The Burlington Magazine, 154(1306): pp. 4–11.
* Hills, Paul (August 2012). "Titian's 'Flight into Egypt': London". The Burlington Magazine, 154(1313): pp. 588–589.
* Hope, Charles (24 May 2012). "'Titian's First Masterpiece'". London Review of Books, 34(10): p. 22.
* Mazzotta, Antonio (2012). Titian: A Fresh Look at Nature. London: National Gallery Company.
* "Restoration of Titian's "The Flight into Egypt"". Hermitage Museum Foundation. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
* "Titian's First Masterpiece: The Flight into Egypt". The National Gallery. March 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
* "Titian's First Masterpiece: The Flight into Egypt, National Gallery - review". Evening Standard. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2022.

* v
* t
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Titian

* List of works

Portraits|

* Jacopo Pesaro being presented by Pope Alexander VI to Saint Peter (1503–1506)
* A Man with a Quilted Sleeve (c. 1509)
* La Schiavona (1510–1512)
* A Man
* New York, c. 1512)
* (Indianapolis, c. 1515
* Shepherd with a Flute (c. 1510–1515)
* A Man in a Red Cap (c. 1510–1515)
* A Sick Man (1515)
* A Knight of Malta (c. 1515)
* Jacopo Sannazaro (c. 1514–1518)
* Gian Giacomo Bartolotti da Parma (c. 1515-1518)
* Vincenzo Mosti (c. 1520)
* Young Woman in a Black Dress (c. 1520)
* Man with a Glove (c. 1520)
* Laura Dianti (c. 1520–1525)
* Alfonso I d'Este (1523)
* A Lady (c. 1525–1565)
* Federico II Gonzaga (c. 1529)
* Giacomo di Andrea Dolfin (c. 1531–1532)
* Alfonso d'Avalos with a Page (1533)
* Charles V with a Dog (1533)
* Ippolito de' Medici (1532–1533)
* Giacomo Doria (1533–1535)
* Charles V (1533–1535)
* Isabella d'Este (1534–1536)
* La Bella (1536)
* Girl in a Fur (1536–1538)
* Count Antonio Porcia and Brugnera (c. 1535–1540)
* A Man with a Falcon (c. 1525-1537)
* Eleonora Gonzaga della Rovere (1538)
* Francesco Maria della Rovere (1536-1538)
* Cardinal Pietro Bembo (1539–1540)
* Benedetto Varchi (c. 1540)
* Pope Sixtus IV (c. 1540)
* A Young Englishman (1540–1545)
* Ranuccio Farnese (c. 1542)
* Clarissa Strozzi (1542)
* The Vendramin Family (1543–1547)
* Pietro Aretino (1545)
* Lavinia Vecellio (c. 1545)
* Pope Paul III (1545–1546)
* Pope Paul III with Camauro (1545–1546)
* Pope Paul III and His Grandsons (1545–1546)
* Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (c. 1545–1546)
* Pier Luigi Farnese (1546)
* Andrea Gritti (c. 1546–1550)
* Equestrian Portrait of Charles V (1548)
* Charles V (seated) (1548)
* Isabella of Portugal (1548)
* John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (c. 1550–1551)
* A General (c. 1550)
* Philip II in Armour (1551)
* Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo (1552)
* Philip II (1554)
* Woman Holding an Apple (c. 1550–1555)
* Girl with a Platter of Fruit (c. 1555–1558)
* Fabrizio Salvaresio (1558)
* An Unknown Lady (c. 1550–1560 – also attributed to Titian's workshop)
* Jacopo Strada (1567–1568)
* A Lady in White (c. 1561)

Self portraits|

* Self-Portrait (1546–1547)
* Self-Portrait (c. 1560)

Secular|

* Detroit Trio (c. 1500 – also attributed to Giorgione and others)
* The Birth of Adonis (c. 1506–1508)
* The Legend of Polydoros (c. 1506–1508)
* Justice (c. 1508)
* Pastoral Concert (c. 1509 – also attributed to Giorgione)
* Dresden Venus (with Giorgione, c. 1510)
* The Lovers (c. 1510 – attributed)
* The Three Ages of Man (c. 1512–1514)
* Sacred and Profane Love (c. 1514)
* The Feast of the Gods (1514)
* Venus and Cupid (1510–1515)
* Lucretia and her Husband Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus (1515)
* The Bravo (c. 1515)
* Flora (c. 1515)
* Vanity (c. 1515)
* Violante (c. 1515)
* Woman with a Mirror (c. 1515)
* The Worship of Venus (1518–19)
* Venus Anadyomene (c. 1520)
* Bacchus and Ariadne (1520–1523)
* The Bacchanal of the Andrians (1523–1526)
* Allegory of Marriage (c. 1530–1535)
* Eleven Caesars (1536–1540)
* Venus of Urbino (1538)
* Alfonso d'Avalos Addressing his Troops (1540)
* Venus and Musician (several versions, 1540s–1570s)
* Tityus (1549)
* Sisyphus (1549)
* Danaë (several versions; 1543–1565)
* Venus and Adonis (several versions)
* Mars, Venus and Amor (c. 1550)
* Pardo Venus (1551)
* Venus with a Mirror (1555)
* Perseus and Andromeda (1554–1556)
* Diana and Actaeon (1556–1559)
* Diana and Callisto (1556–1559)
* The Death of Actaeon (c. 1559–1575)
* The Rape of Europa (c. 1560–1562)
* The Concert (c. 1543–1564)
* Venus Blindfolding Cupid (c. 1565)
* Allegory of Prudence (c. 1565–1570)
* Nymph and Shepherd (c. 1570)
* Tarquin and Lucretia (comp. 1571)
* Flaying of Marsyas (1570–1576)

Religious|

* Christ Carrying the Cross  (c. 1505 – also attributed to Giorgione)
* Bache Madonna (c. 1508)
* Flight into Egypt (c. 1508
* Rest on the Flight into Egypt (c. 1508)
* Lochis Madonna (1508–1510)
* Saint Mark Enthroned (c. 1510)
* The Gypsy Madonna (c. 1510)
* Holy Family with a Shepherd (c. 1510)
* Christ and the Adulteress
* Glasgow, c. 1510)
* (Vienna, c. 1520
* Virgin and Child Between Saints Anthony of Padua and Roch (c. 1511)
* The Resurrected Christ (c. 1511–12)
* Baptism of Christ (c. 1512)
* Virgin and Child with Saints Stephen, Jerome and Maurice (Paris; c. 1510–1525)
* Miracle of the Jealous Husband (1511)
* Balbi Holy Conversation (c. 1513)
* Noli me tangere (c. 1514)
* The Archangel Raphael and Tobias (c. 1512–1514; c. 1540–1545)
* Salome
* Rome, c. 1515)
* (Madrid, c. 1550)
* (Private, c. 1570
* Madonna of the Cherries (1515)
* The Tribute Money (c. 1516)
* Assumption of the Virgin (1516–1518)
* The Virgin and Child with Saint George and Saint Dorothy (1516–1518)
* Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and an Unidentified Saint (c. 1515–1520)
* Madonna and Child with Four Saints (c. 1516–1520)
* Pesaro Madonna (1519–1526)
* Virgin and Child with Saints Anthony Abbot, Jerome and Francis (c. 1519)
* Gozzi Altarpiece (1520)
* Virgin and Child with Saints Stephen, Jerome and Maurice (Vienna; c. 1520)
* Malchiostro Annunciation (c. 1520)
* The Entombment of Christ (c. 1520)
* Averoldi Polyptych (1520–1522)
* Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (1525)
* The Assassination of Saint Peter Martyr (1529)
* Aldobrandini Madonna (1530)
* Madonna of the Rabbit (1530)
* Madonna of the Roses (c. 1530)
* Penitent Magdalene (1531)
* Saint Jerome in Penitence (1531)
* Pilgrims at Emmaus (c. 1533–1534)
* Supper at Emmaus (c. 1534; c. 1545)
* The Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple (1534–1538)
* Saint John the Baptist (1540)
* Sciarra Madonna (c. 1540)
* The Crowning with Thorns (1542–43)
* Ecce Homo
* Vienna, 1543
* David and Goliath (c. 1542–1544)
* Abraham and Isaac (c. 1543–1544)
* Cain and Abel (c. 1543–1545)
* Serravalle Altarpiece (1548)
* Castello Roganzuolo Altarpiece (1549)
* The Fall of Man (c. 1550)
* Penitent Magdalene (c. 1550)
* Saint Jerome in Penitence (1552)
* The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence (c. 1548–1559)
* La Gloria (1554)
* Christ Appearing to his Mother after his Resurrection (1554)
* Mater Dolorosa with Clasped Hands (c. 1555)
* Saint Jerome in Penitence (1575)
* Crucifixion (1558)
* The Entombment (1559)
* Saint Margaret and the Dragon (c. 1559)
* Annunciation (1559–1564)
* Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1560)
* Penitent Magdalene (1565)
* Saint Dominic (c. 1565)
* Judith with the Head of Holofernes (c. 1570)
* Religion saved by Spain (1572–1575)
* Saint Sebastian (c. 1575)
* The Crowning with Thorns (1576)
* Pietà (1576)

Related|

* Orazio Vecellio (son)
* Francesco Vecellio (brother)
* Cesare Vecellio (cousin)
* Marco Vecellio (nephew)
* Girolamo di Tiziano (disciple)
* Titian (crater)

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