The Flight into Egypt - Claude Lorrain

Purchased with funds provided by Mrs. Wesley M. Dixon, Jr.

"The Flight into Egypt" by Claude Lorrain (1630/33) Etching on ivory laid paper.

Commentary

"The Flight into Egypt" by Claude Lorrain (1630/33) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. The print-based method rewards close viewing, where line, texture, and contrast do most of the expressive work . Themes to notice include etching. This piece is held in the source collection's Prints and Drawings collection. Claude Lorrain is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Claude Lorrain French, 1600-1682. The work is cataloged within a France cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as etching, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Etching on ivory laid paper) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Image: 10 × 16.9 cm (3 15/16 × 6 11/16 in.); Plate: 10.5 × 17.2 cm (4 3/16 × 6 13/16 in.); Sheet: 11.4 × 18.2 cm (4 1/2 × 7 3/16 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include etching. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/62185

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data