Title

The Flight into Egypt

painter

Ávila, Lorenzo de [attributed to] (Ávila, ca. 1492 - Toro, ca. 1570)

Carvajal, Martín de [attributed to] (Active in the province of Zamora between 1529 and 1546)

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Object history

According to Fiz Fuertes (2023), this panel was likely part of an altarpiece that is now scattered. The author identified six panels from the set and grouped them based on criteria such as style, date, and size (99/100 cm x 79/81 cm):

• Prendimiento: It was in the collection of Louis Philippe of Orléans and was auctioned in Madrid in 1993, where it was sold as attributed to John of Burgundy the Younger. It is currently in a private collection.
• Resurrection: auctioned at Christie’s (London) in 1966. Fiz (2023) believes that Lorenzo de Ávila and Martín de Carvajal collaborated on its creation. The panel’s current whereabouts are unknown.
• Agony in the Garden: auctioned at Christie’s (London) in 1966. The work’s whereabouts are unknown.
• TheFlagellation: in the Granados Collection, Madrid.
• St. James at the Battle of Clavijo: sold by the Caylus Gallery in 2014.
• Flight into Egypt: Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (United States).

This last panel was described by Sullivan (1986) in the North Carolina Museum of Art’s *Catalogue of Spanish Painting *. In that publication, the work is attributed to the Master of Pozuelo, an archaic designation (Fiz, 2003) that continues to appear in the institution’s online catalog. It was Post (1947) who first identified this artist based on the paintings from the altarpiece at Pozuelo de la Orden (Valladolid), and subsequently, Gómez Moreno (1927) and Angulo (1954) expanded the list of works attributed to him. However, more recent studies, such as those by Vasallo and Fiz (2003) or Pascual (2012), have shown that these were in fact different artists who belonged to the workshop of Lorenzo de Ávila.

The faces, the stocky proportions of the figures, and the composition are characteristic of other works by Martín de Carvajal. As for the landscape in the background, it reveals Lorenzo de Ávila’s hand. These details confirm that both artists collaborated on its execution (Fiz, 2003; Fiz, 2023), suggesting that it was likely part of an altarpiece in the province of Zamora. We do not know the reasons behind its removal, although there were numerous sales of works from Zamora that took place in the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century (Martínez, 2018; Fiz, 2021).

*The Flight into Egypt* was part of Marcello Massarenti’s collection, specifically at the Palazzo Accoramboni (Rome, Italy). In 1894, the *Catalogue of pictures, marbles, bronzes, antiquities, etc.* belonging to Massarenti was published, but the panel is not mentioned. Therefore, we assume he must have acquired it shortly thereafter, perhaps during one of his travels. In 1902, the American railroad magnate Henry Walters purchased his entire collection, consisting of more than 1,700 pieces, among which was this panel (Johnston, 1999). Finally, in 1931, Walters bequeathed his collection to the city of Baltimore, leading to the founding of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore (United States).

Description

The panel depicts a scene from the New Testament: the Flight into Egypt. Saint Joseph is on the left, guiding Mary and the Infant Jesus, who are riding on a donkey. The stocky proportions of the figures, their faces, and the composition bear similarities to other works by Martín de Carvajal, such as The Nativity ( Pinilla de Toro, Zamora). This was not the first time Carvajal had painted this subject; in the Church of San Nicolás in Castroverde de Campos (Zamora), we also find a Flight into Egypt. In 1969, the church collapsed, and the painting is now housed in the Church of Santa María, in the same town. As in other works, Lorenzo de Ávila contributed to the landscape.

Locations

• First quarter of the XVI^th c.

  province

  Possible origin from Zamora, Zamora (Spain)

• ca. 1894 - 1902

  private collection

  Marcello Massarenti, Roma (Italy) *

• ca. 1902 - 1931

  private collection

  Henry Walters, Baltimore (United States) *

• 1931 - present

  museum

  The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (United States)