The Flight into Egypt
c. 1544-45
Jacopo Bassano (Italian, 1510-1592)
On View

Jacopo Bassano specialized in the production of Biblical, pastoral scenes featuring peasants and animals. His paintings were admired for their richness of color and complex designs. Here the procession is animated by a strong sense of diagonal movement, the swirling draperies and the emphatically gesturing angel. Only the Madonna and Child, the physical and spiritual apex of the composition, appear tranquil. The sublimely eccentric angel leads them into undefined, even precipitous territory. His right hand points to a sprouting tree, a symbol of Christ's resurrection. This type of intricate, picturesque composition, pleasing in every detail, was inspiring to later generations of artists.

Details

  • Artist Name: Jacopo Bassano (Italian, 1510-1592)
  • Title: The Flight into Egypt
  • Date: c. 1544-45
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: framed: 60-5/8 x 90 in. (154.0 x 228.6 cm); canvas: 48-1/2 x 77-1/4 in. (123.2 x 196.2 cm)
  • Credit Line: Norton Simon Art Foundation
  • Accession Number: M.1969.35.P
  • Copyright: © Norton Simon Art Foundation

Object Information

General Sir James Henry Craig (1748-1812), by inheritance to;
Lord Harrington (sale, London, Christie’s, 18 April 1812, lot 11, bought in).
Sir Joseph Henry Hawley, 3rd Baronet (1814-1875), Leybourne Grange, Brighton, and London, by inheritance to his brother;
Sir Henry James Hawley, 4th Baronet (1815-1898).
Miss Annie Massey.
Stuart Rendel, 1st Baron Rendel of Hatchlands (1834–1913), to his grandson;
Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel, C.B.E. (1887–1959), gift 1957 to;
Prinknash Abbey, Gloucester; installed in refectory 13 February 1958 (sale, London, Christie’s, 5 December 1969, lot 112), to;
Norton Simon Art Foundation.

The Golden Century of Venetian Painting

  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1979-10-30 to 1980-01-27
  • Ballarin, Alessandro and Giuliana Ericani, Jacopo Bassano e lo stupendo inganno dell'occhio,2010, p. 44
  • Pallucchini, R., Eberhard Hanfstaengl zum 75. Geburstag,fig. 1 p. 75
  • Jacopo Bassano c. 1510-1592, pp. 64-65, 67-68, 73, 276, 534
  • Steadman, David, University: A Princeton Quarterly,no. 57 p. 7
  • Renato Miracco, Italian Treasures in the U.S. An Itinerary of Art,2014, p. #41
  • Herrmann, L., The Burlington Magazine, p. 465
  • Sprute, Rosemarie, Hirtenanbetungen von Jacopo Bassano: Annäherung an ein religionspolitisches Selbstverständnis,fig. 17 p. 50
  • Pignatti, T; and K. Donahue, The Golden Century of Venetian Painting,no. 48 pp. 132-135, 170
  • Lord Hindlip, An Auctioneer's Lot, Triumphs and Disasters at Christie's and Beyond,2016, pp. 74-75, 96 ; p. 72 (ill.)
  • Sutton, Denys, Apollo,fig. 1 p. 94
  • Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum,1989, pp. 36-37
  • Sutton, Denys, Apollo, p. 386
  • Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best,2010, cat. 702 p. 329
  • Wright, W., Spectrum (British Science News),fig. 2 pp. 15-16
  • J. Martineau and Charles Hope, Genius of Venice 1500-1600, p. 146
  • Palluchini, R., Bassano,no. 11 p. 26
  • Christie's Review of the Year 1969/1970, pp. 28-29
  • Freedberg, S. J. et al., Jacapo Bassano (1510c. -1592): tre lezioni del XXXIV Corso internazionale di alta cultura tenutosi alla Fondazione Giorgio Cini di Venezia nel 1992 dal titolo Civilità di terraferma e Venezia nell-età dei Bassano,
  • Rigon, F., Gli Animali di Jacopo Bassano,figs. 12 a, b, c pp. 33, 36-37
  • Freedberg, Sidney, Painting in Italy 1500 to 1600, p. 542
  • Wilson, Carolyn C., Saint Joseph in Italian Renaissance Art: New Directions and New Interpretations,pl. 60 p. 153
  • Benedict, N., The Burlington Magazine,fig. 39 p. 76
  • Herbert, J., Inside Christie's, p. 161
  • Steadman, David, Art Journal,fig. 2 pp. 34-35
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Additional Artwork by Artist

Portrait of a Lady Jacopo Bassano after 1570

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