# The Flight into Egypt

**Abraham Jansz. van Diepenbeeck** (Flemish, 1596–1675)  
c. 1650  
Oil on panel  
43.8 × 31.8 cm (17 1/4 × 12 1/2 in.); Framed: 64.8 × 53.4 × 10.2 cm (25 1/2 × 21 × 4 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1963.44. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/16497).

## About this work

The flight into Egypt—a common subject in European art—refers to an episode in the life of Christ when his family fled King Herod, who sought to kill the infant Jesus. Abraham van Diepenbeeck made the theme his own by including an angel and the inquisitive cow at bottom right. This panel was not intended to be a finished painting; it is instead a grisaille (monochrome grey) oil sketch, which could then translated into an engraving.

_Text from the Art Institute of Chicago._

Abraham Jansz. van Diepenbeeck painted this in about 1650, aged about 44. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

A work made of oil on panel.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Oil on panel.** Oil paint on prepared wooden boards, usually oak in the north and poplar in Italy. The rigid, smooth surface suits fine detail and thin, glowing glazes.
- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Abraham Jansz. van Diepenbeeck](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/abraham-jansz-van-diepenbeeck)

Flemish, 1596–1675

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Flanders
- The artist was about 44
- Real size: about 17 × 12 in (43 × 31 cm). The 12 × 16 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 17th century
- Subjects: Christian subjects, angels, children, Christianity, cows, donkeys, holy family, landscape
- Colour: grey
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/56.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/56/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-flight-into-egypt-aic-16497).