The Rest on the Flight into Egypt
1720s
18th century
46.3 cm x 34 cm (18 1/4 in. x 13 3/8 in.)
Sebastiano Ricci
(Belluno, Italy, 1659 - 1734, Venice, Italy)
Primary
Object Type:
painting
Artist Nationality:
Europe, Italian
Medium and Support:
Oil on canvas
Credit Line:
Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Suida-Manning Collection, 2017
Accession Number:
2017.1342
These rather monumental figures, the daylight palette, and the happy temper are all characteristic of Sebastiano Ricci’s mature
style. To judge from its small size and brusque handling, this was a preparatory study for a larger work. Ricci almost invariably
prepared such studies, and often more than one, for his major projects. While this project has not been identified, the lozenge
shape and surrounding blank areas of canvas —both original—suggest that the final work would have been inserted in a wall
and probably surrounded by stucco work.