Flight into Egypt
1647/66
Medium
Etching on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
46.9 × 31.2 cm (18 1/2 × 12 5/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
106676
Art Historical Context
Pier Francesco Mola's *Flight into Egypt* (1647/66) captures a pivotal biblical moment from the Gospel of Matthew: the Holy Family—Mary cradling the infant Jesus, accompanied by Joseph and a donkey—fleeing Herod's massacre of the innocents. This etching, housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings department, exemplifies Mola's mastery during the Italian Baroque era. Born in Switzerland but trained in Rome under the Bolognese school, Mola blended dramatic chiaroscuro with lyrical landscapes, infusing religious narratives with emotional depth and natural beauty. Rendered as an...
About the Artist
Pier Francesco Mola
Pier Francesco Mola (1612–1666) was a Roman Baroque painter celebrated for the lyrical quality of his landscapes and the painterly freedom of his figural work, qualities that set him apart from the more rigorous classicism of some of his contemporaries. Born in Coldrerio in the Swiss canton of Ticino, he spent the greater part of his career in Rome, where he underwent an extensive and eclectic for...