id: 131670 accession number: 1954.260 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1954.260 updated: 2023-05-19 11:03:06.889000 The Flight into Egypt, 1470–74. Martin Schongauer (German, c.1450–1491). Engraving; image: 25.5 x 17.1 cm (10 1/16 x 6 3/4 in.); sheet: 25.5 x 17.1 cm (10 1/16 x 6 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1954.260 title: The Flight into Egypt title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1470–74 creation date earliest: 1465 creation date latest: 1479 current location: creditline: John L. Severance Fund copyright: --- culture: Germany, 15th century technique: engraving department: Prints collection: PR - Engraving type: Print find spot: catalogue raisonne: Lehrs V.62.7 --- CREATORS * Martin Schongauer (German, c.1450–1491) - artist Martin Schongauer (ca. 1450-53, Colmar - 2 February 1491, Breisach) was one of the most skilled and influential graphic artists of Europe in the last quarter of the 15h century. Trained both as an engraver and as a painter, Schongauer started his apprenticeship under his father Caspar Schongauer, a goldsmith from Augsburg. In 1465, he matriculated at the University of Leipzig. After one year, he left his studies, and came back to Colmar. There, he was trained under the painter Caspar Isenmann, between 1466 and 1469. Schongauer later traveled down to the Rhine, Cologne, Burgundy, the Netherlands, and he likely visited Spain. In 1489, he became a citizen of Breisach, where he died probably of the plague in 1491. Only a few of Schongauer's paintings survive. Among these is the Madonna in the Rose Garden for the Church of Saint Martin in Colmar (1473), which betrays Schongauer's admiration for the works by the Netherlandish painter Roger Van der Weyden. The bulk of Schongauer's engravings is more conspicuous: 116 prints, none of them dated, but all marked by his monogram M+S. Characterized by exquisite cross-hatching and impeccable craftsmanship, Schongauer's engravings were widely imitated by the German printmakers Ishrael van Meckenem and Albrecht Durer, as well as by Italian artists, such as Cristoforo Robetta and Nicoletto da Modena. --- measurements: Image: 25.5 x 17.1 cm (10 1/16 x 6 3/4 in.); Sheet: 25.5 x 17.1 cm (10 1/16 x 6 3/4 in.) state of the work: I/I edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Prints 1400-1800 opening date: 1956-12-18T05:00:00 Prints 1400-1800. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 18, 1956-January 20, 1957); The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (February 1-March 3, 1957); Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN (November 1-December 1, 1957). title: Department of Prints and Drawings Opening Exhibition opening date: 1958-03-03T05:00:00 Department of Prints and Drawings Opening Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (March 3, 1958-October 11, 1959). title: Prints and Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art Collection opening date: 1965-05-06T04:00:00 Prints and Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 6-September 9, 1965). title: Old Master Prints and Drawings opening date: 1966-07-29T04:00:00 Old Master Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 29, 1966-February 28, 1967). title: Eight Masters of the Print opening date: 1980-10-14T04:00:00 Eight Masters of the Print. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 14, 1980-January 18, 1981). title: When Angels Bent Near the Earth to Touch Their Harps of Gold: The Christmas Story opening date: 1981-12-01T05:00:00 When Angels Bent Near the Earth to Touch Their Harps of Gold: The Christmas Story. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 1, 1981-January 17, 1982). title: Real Prints: Reproduction or Invention opening date: 1987-04-07T04:00:00 Real Prints: Reproduction or Invention. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 7-May 17, 1987). title: Love Gardens / Forbidden Fruit opening date: 2023-07-02T04:00:00 Love Gardens / Forbidden Fruit. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 2-October 29, 2023). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: The inclusion of tropical details such as the dragon tree, parrot, and lizards could be evidence of Martin Schongauer's trip to Spain during his Wanderjahre (apprenticeship trip) in the 1460s. digital description: According to the apocryphal Gospel by Pseudo-Matthew, while resting in Egypt after fleeing the Massacre of the Innocents and their home in Israel, the Virgin Mary asked Joseph to harvest some dates from a palm. As Joseph could not reach the fruits on the three, Jesus ordered the plant to bend down. Martin Schongauer's print is clearly inspired by this episode. the Virgin Mary is shown holding him and riding on a donkey, which is momentarily resting under a palm. Five hovering angels are pulling down the top of the tree to enable Joseph to pick dates. This print belongs to a set of four engravings considered to be an incomplete series of episodes of the Life of the Virgin, which also include The Nativity (1939.448), The Adoration of the Magi (1942.1070), and The Death of the Virgin (1956.744). wall description: --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 641 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n119 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. page number: Reproduced: p. 72 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n96 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. page number: Reproduced: p. 72 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n96 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. page number: Reproduced: p. 87 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n107 --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1954.260/1954.260_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1954.260/1954.260_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1954.260/1954.260_full.tif