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The Return of the Holy Family from Egypt

1773
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 626
Nicolás Enríquez, whose career spanned more than six decades, is best known as a specialist in paintings on copper. He frequently based his compositions on European prints, as he did in this painting, which derives from a work by the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640). The popularity of the subject, in which the heavenly Trinity is mirrored by the earthly one of the Holy Family, can be attributed to the growing importance of the cult of Saint Joseph. The saint, depicted here as a youthful spouse and father, was made patron of New Spain in 1555.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Return of the Holy Family from Egypt
  • Artist: Nicolás Enríquez (Mexican, 1704–1790)
  • Date: 1773
  • Culture: Mexican
  • Medium: Oil on copper
  • Dimensions: 22 1/4 × 16 1/2 in. (56.5 × 41.9 cm)
    Framed: 25 in. × 19 1/2 in. × 1 1/2 in. (63.5 × 49.5 × 3.8 cm)
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest and several members of The Chairman's Council Gifts, 2014
  • Object Number: 2014.174
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

More Artwork
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The Virgin of El Camino with St. Fermín and St. Saturnino, Nicolás Enríquez Mexican, Oil on copper, Mexican
The Virgin of El Camino with St. Fermín and St. Saturnino
Nicolás Enríquez
1773
The Apparition of the Virgin of El Pilar to St. James, Nicolás Enríquez Mexican, Oil on copper, Mexican
The Apparition of the Virgin of El Pilar to St. James
Nicolás Enríquez
1773
The Baptism of Christ, Nicolás Enríquez Mexican, Oil on copper, Mexican
The Baptism of Christ
Nicolás Enríquez
1773
The Virgin of Guadalupe with the Four Apparitions, Nicolás Enríquez Mexican, Oil on copper, Mexican
The Virgin of Guadalupe with the Four Apparitions
Nicolás Enríquez
1773
Nun’s Badge with the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, Nicolás Rodríguez Juárez Mexican, Oil and gold on copper; tortoiseshell and silver frame, Mexican
Nun’s Badge with the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception
Nicolás Rodríguez Juárez
ca. 1710

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