The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 27, 2023

Rest on the Flight into Egypt

c. 1640

Charles Poërson

(French, 1609–1667)

France, 17th century

Oil on wood

Framed: 57.5 x 67.5 x 6.5 cm (22 5/8 x 26 9/16 x 2 9/16 in.); Unframed: 35.5 x 45.9 cm (14 x 18 1/16 in.)

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1973.32

Location

not on view

Description

Formerly ascribed to the French painter Simon Vouet (1590-1649), Rest on the Flight into Egypt has only recently been attributed to Poerson, a collaborator and follower of Vouet. Intended to be a small devotional picture, this painting on oak panel depicts a quiet scene of the Holy Family resting; the Virgin Mary sits while an angel brings the plump young Christ Child fruit, and St. Joseph leads their donkey away to graze. The delicate pinks and blues and the transparent treatment of light and shadow create a gentle domestic atmosphere, characteristic of Vouet's Italian-influenced work.

Provenance
1973-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
Until 1973
(Galerie Joseph Hahn, Paris, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1 1

Provenance Footnotes

1 1 The early provenance of this painting remains elusive. Galerie Joseph Hahn does not appear to have extant records, and the catalogues of several exhibitions held at the Galerie Joseph Hahn in the years prior to 1973, which could potentially contain additional provenance information, do not include the painting. The Getty Provenance Index lists several paintings in auctions from the late eighteenth- to mid-twentieth century depicting the Flight into Egypt by Simon Vouet, to whom the Poerson has been previously attributed; however, none of the paintings are reproduced in the catalogues (and in some cases, the dimensions are quite different than those of the Poerson), so it cannot be confirmed whether these pictures and the CMA painting are one and the same.
Citations
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 173 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Mentioned: p. 153-154; Reproduced: p. 154
Exhibition history

CMA, February 1974: Year in Review, cat. no. 45, illus.

CMA, December 1, 1981-January 17, 1982: "When Angeles Bent Near the Earth to Touch Their Harps of Gold:The Christmas Story," (CMA Gallery A, no catalogue).

Year in Review: 1973. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 30-March 17, 1974).

When Angels Bent Near the Earth to Touch Their Harps of Gold: The Christmas Story. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 1, 1981-January 17, 1982).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1973.32