Brescia, the Holy Family's Repose "Opera Ospite" at the Diocesan Museum

Art's most enigmatic flight from Egypt is a "Guest Work" at the Diocesan Museum of Brescia . Agostino Ciampelli 's canvas " Rest of the Holy Family on a Journey " (pictured is a detail), from a Tuscan noble collection, will be on special public display until September 20. This work is part of a project that brings a new work to the Diocesan Museum every four months, in dialogue with the permanent collection.

Ciampelli was among the leading exponents of Tuscan Counter-Reformation painting , capable of embracing the sinuosity typical of Mannerism, which was long active in Rome, where he settled around 1594. Enigmatic and complex to interpret, the work depicts a moment of repose during the Holy Family's return from Egypt after the death of Herod. The scene, which demonstrates Ciampelli's expertise as a landscape painter, should be read from right to left, in the opposite direction to the conventionally depicted flight.

An in-depth event is scheduled: on September 18th at 6 pm, Angelo Loda will talk about the work to the public.

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