The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 14, 2025
The Return of the Holy Family from Egypt
c. 1695–1700
(French, c. 1666–before 1711)
Sheet: 24 x 17.3 cm (9 7/16 x 6 13/16 in.)
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
To make this drawing, the artist employed an unusual combination of materials, consisting of grey and white opaque watercolors and ink on a yellowish prepared paper, which offsets the figures in the scene with a warm glow.Description
The iconography of this drawing by the late 17th-century artist Claude Simpol is that of the Holy Family, but the exact subject is harder to identify with certainty. Due to the child’s ambiguous age, the scene is either the return of the Holy Family from the Flight into Egypt, or the return from the temple after Christ appeared among the doctors. Though loving and tender, the serious expressions and air of melancholy foreshadow Christ’s sacrifice, which is implied by the child’s arms held outstretched by his parents as if on a cross. The subtlety of emotion emphasizes the familial connection of the Holy Family and thus Christ’s humanity.- February 10, 2024Sold as Anonymous, 10 February 2024 Hôtel des Ventes de la Seine, Rouen, France2024–25(Marty de Cambiaire Fine Arts SAS, Paris, France, sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)March 3, 2025–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- {{cite web|title=The Return of the Holy Family from Egypt|url=false|author=Claude Simpol|year=c. 1695–1700|access-date=14 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2025.6