Artwork
The Flight into Egypt with a Shepherd Watching from Behind a Tree
The Flight into Egypt with a Shepherd Watching from Behind a Tree is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Gaetano Zompini. It dates from 1758 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Gaetano Zompini’s 1758 print, titled The Flight into Egypt with a Shepherd Watching from Behind a Tree, is an etching executed in sanguine on laid paper. The work measures a modest size typical of 18th‑century devotional prints and presents a narrative scene from the biblical episode of the Holy Family’s escape to Egypt.
Subject & Meaning
The composition depicts a weary yet composed woman cradling an infant while seated on a donkey, accompanied by a walking male figure. A second male figure conceals himself behind a tree, observing the procession with apparent curiosity. The setting conveys a moment of quiet vigilance during the family’s perilous journey.
Technique & Style
Zompini employed the sanguine etching technique, using a reddish-brown pigment to render tonal variations on laid paper. The line work is fine and precise, allowing delicate modeling of the figures and landscape. The light sky and textured ground, rendered through cross‑hatching, create depth while maintaining the print’s overall tonal unity.
History & Provenance
Created in 1758, the print belongs to Zompini’s later period, when he produced a series of religious subjects for the Italian market. Surviving copies are held in several European print collections, indicating the work’s circulation among collectors of devotional imagery during the mid‑18th century.
Context
The Flight into Egypt was a popular theme in Catholic art, symbolizing divine protection and refuge. Zompini’s inclusion of a shepherd figure observing from concealment adds a narrative twist, reflecting contemporary interest in everyday witnesses to sacred events and the blending of biblical and pastoral motifs.
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