Rest on the Flight into Egypt (Titian)

Not to be confused with Flight into Egypt (Titian).

Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Artist	Titian
Year	c. 1508
Medium	oil paint on wood-mounted canvas
Subject	Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Dimensions	46.5 cm × 64 cm (18.3 in × 25 in)
Location	Private collection

Rest on the Flight into Egypt is a c. 1508 oil on panel painting by Titian, owned by the Marquess of Bath and held at Longleat House near Warminster, Wiltshire, England. The artwork portrays Joseph, Mary, and Jesus as they stop to rest during their flight into Egypt.

Description

The painting is mounted on a wooden panel 64 cm wide and is believed to have been made by Titian in about 1508, when he was 20 years old.^[1]

Provenance

In the early 17th century, the painting was documented in the possession of a Venetian spice merchant.^[1] By the 1660s it was in the collection of the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, where it was included in the catalogue titled Theatrum Pictorium by his court painter David Teniers the Younger.^[2] In 1809, it was stolen from Belvedere Palace in Vienna by French troops during the Napoleonic Wars.^[1] It was purchased from Christie's by the 4th Marquess of Bath in 1878 and has since been at the family residence, Longleat House. It was stolen from the drawing room there in 1995 and was recovered in Richmond, London in 2002 by the art detective Charley Hill.^[3]

The painting was auctioned by Christie's on July 7, 2024^[1][4] for $22.3 million.

Copies

In addition to the engraving for the catalogue of the Archduke's collection, Teniers made a miniature of the painting. As with most of his miniatures, it is unclear whether the engraving was made after the miniature or the original; in the case of Rest on the Flight into Egypt, the current literature points to both the miniature and the engraving having been made from the original.^[5]

• 
  Miniature copy by Teniers
• 
  Engraving for the Theatrum Pictorium by Theodoor van Kessel
• 
  The Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his Painting Gallery in Brussels by Teniers; Rest on the Flight into Egypt can be seen to the right of the door.

See also

• List of works by Titian

References

1. Giuffrida, Angela (13 June 2024). "Storied Titian painting found at London bus stop after theft goes to auction". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
2. Engraving, no. 63 as shown in the Theatrum Pictorium, c. 1660
3. Pyke, Nicholas (23 August 2002). "Stolen £5m Titian found in carrier bag after seven-year hunt". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
4. "Titian's The Rest on the Flight into Egypt: coveted by aristocrats, emperors and archdukes — and once left at a bus stop", Christie's, 5 June 2024.
5. Record 3231 in RKDimages for the Teniers miniature painting after Titian