Flight into Egypt

The work, depicting the Flight into Egypt, entered the Palazzo Venezia collection in 1933 following a donation by Henriette Tower Wurts in memory of her late husband George.
The foreground is occupied by the figure of Mary with the Child riding a donkey with long pointed ears. Joseph, with a worried expression contrasting with the smiling face of the Child, leads the family and wears elegant clothes and a fur headdress adorned with fabric. In the background, another character on horseback follows the family, while a final figure, sitting precariously on the rocks in the background, greets the small procession by raising his hat. Although originally uncolored, the work is precious in its carving and accurate execution of details, from the elegant clothes worn by Joseph and the man on horseback to the decoration engraved on the animal’s bridle. Mary appears elegant and austere in her composure, while the sharp features of her face are softened by the cascade of wavy hair that falls over her back. Her facial features correspond to those of the other characters, characterized by a thin nose, fine lips, and conspicuously arched eyebrows under which small eyes peek out from protruding eyelids. All these details, combined with the attention to detail, are reminiscent of early sixteenth-century Flemish sculpture. While Hermanin believed the relief to be of Swabian origin (Hermanin 1948, 271), it was Santangelo who first identified its correct context of origin (Santangelo 1954, 69), narrowing down the area to Brussels and identifying some influences from northern France. Fachechi agrees with this proposal (Fachechi 2011, 127), while Weniger has suggested looking further south of the Brussels area and searching for the author of the relief in the province of Hainaut (Weniger 2017, 232). The scholar came to this conclusion by comparing the Wurts relief with the relief depicting the Adoration of the Child that arrived at the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich with the Bollert collection (Weniger 2005, 260–263). It is highly likely that the work comes from an early sixteenth-century altar complex: it is well known that from the beginning of the sixteenth century, sculptural decoration became predominant in the composition of Flemish winged altars (Williamson 2002, 60), whereas previously, plastic decoration generally occupied the central case of the winged altar and the rest was painted. Many altars made in Brussels or Antwerp after 1500 include small sculptural groups arranged on either side of larger scenes (Williamson 2002, 60). The back of these smaller scenes is usually worked so that it can be easily attached to the wooden base: in the case of the relief depicting the Flight into Egypt, it is highly likely, given the smooth back, that it comes from an altarpiece dedicated to the childhood of Christ

Francesca Padovani

Entry published on 12 June 2025

Fair.

2009: technical-scientific investigations conducted by IVALSA-CNR in Florence.

Rome, Tower Wurts Collection, 1933;
Rome, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, 1933.

Rome, National Museum of Palazzo Venezia; Rome, Gallerie Sacconi al Vittoriano, Voglia d’Italia. International Collecting in Rome during the Vittoriano Era, December 7, 2017–March 4, 2018.

Hermanin Federico, Il Palazzo di Venezia, Roma 1948, p. 271;
Santangelo Antonino (a cura di), Museo di Palazzo Venezia. Catalogo delle sculture, Roma 1954, p. 69;
Williamson Paul, Netherlandish Sculpture 1450-1550, London 2002;
Weniger, in Eikelmann Renate (a cura di), Die Sammlung Bollert. Bildwerke aus Gotik und Renaissance. Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, München 2005, pp. 260-263, n. 55;
Fachechi Grazia Maria, Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia. Sculture in legno, in Barberini Maria Giulia (a cura di), Roma. Il Palazzo di Venezia e le sue collezioni di scultura, II, Roma 2011, pp. 24, 45, 127-128;
Weniger Matthias, Sculture e dipinti d’Oltralpe nella Collezione Wurts, in Pellegrini Emanuele (a cura di), Voglia d’Italia. Il collezionismo internazionale nella Roma del Vittoriano, catalogo della mostra (Roma, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia; Roma, Gallerie Sacconi al Vittoriano, 7 dicembre 2017-4 marzo 2018), Napoli 2017, pp. 215-251, n. 4.5.