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Source Description
This drawing relates to Luc-Olivier Merson's <em>Rest on the Flight into Egypt,</em> among the most popular paintings exhibited at the 1879 Paris Salon. This dreamlike, highly unusual image from the familiar bible story shows Mary and Christ resting peacefully in the arms of a Sphinx, while Joseph sleeps near their dwindling fire. In the wake of its extraordinary success, Merson made several painted replicas of the work. Here, the composition is identical, but reversed, suggesting that it may have been an alternative version of the canvas.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
159875
label
The Rest on the Flight into Egypt (recto); Sketch of a Sphinx [?] (verso)
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
159875
contentType
drawing
title
The Rest on the Flight into Egypt (recto); Sketch of a Sphinx [?] (verso)
description
This drawing relates to Luc-Olivier Merson's <em>Rest on the Flight into Egypt,</em> among the most popular paintings exhibited at the 1879 Paris Salon. This dreamlike, highly unusual image from the familiar bible story shows Mary and Christ resting peacefully in the arms of a Sphinx, while Joseph sleeps near their dwindling fire. In the wake of its extraordinary success, Merson made several painted replicas of the work. Here, the composition is identical, but reversed, suggesting that it may have been an alternative version of the canvas.
date
c. 1879–80
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79980195
creators
9567
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Sheet: 14.5 x 25.5 cm (5 11/16 x 10 1/16 in.); Secondary Support: 27.9 x 39 cm (11 x 15 3/8 in.)
cul
France, 19th century
accession
1997.178
Source extras
tec
gray and graphite wash, with scraping and traces of black chalk
tombstone
The Rest on the Flight into Egypt (recto); Sketch of a Sphinx [?] (verso), c. 1879–80. Luc-Olivier Merson (French, 1846–1920). Gray and graphite wash, with scraping and traces of black chalk; sheet: 14.5 x 25.5 cm (5 11/16 x 10 1/16 in.); secondary support: 27.9 x 39 cm (11 x 15 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1997.178
collection
DR - French
inscriptions
inscription
verso: upper right, in graphite: [8?].86 x [8?].[7?]1 [sideways]
didYouKnow
It is possible that this drawing served as a model for a print, but the best-known printed reproduction of the painting differs from the sheet in several minor details.
citations
citation
Cable, Patrick Shaw. “From North Africa to the Black Sea: Nineteenth-Century French Orientalist Drawings.” <em>Cleveland Studies in the History of Art</em> 7 (2002): 104–125.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 105, fig. 2
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:17:39.243000
sourceId
159875
dept
Drawings
coll
DR - French
med
gray and graphite wash, with scraping and traces of black chalk
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
b602bfe7c4cd4760