The Flight into Egypt; the Holy Family walking together, Saint Joseph pointing to the left and the Virgin carrying the infant Christ, an angel in front of her offering a flower, after Reni

The Flight into Egypt; the Holy Family walking together, Saint Joseph pointing to the left and the Virgin carrying the infant Christ, an angel in front of her offering a flower, after Reni by Francois de Poilly. The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951

Created in 1681 during the Baroque period, this work belongs firmly within the power & politics tradition. Francois de Poilly worked at a moment when the rivalry between Catholic Baroque drama and Protestant restraint reshaped what a painting could mean. Every gesture, fabric, and gleam of light was decoded by contemporary viewers like a private language.

Executed in Engraving, measuring Sheet (Trimmed): 17 1/2 × 12 7/16 in. (44.4 × 31.6 cm), the surface rewards close looking. Francois de Poilly builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.

“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”