Return to Nazareth

About the Artwork

Upon hearing rumor of a young king born to a virgin in Bethlehem, Herod, the ruler of Judea, jealously developed a plot to find and murder the infant Jesus. Fearing Herod's wrath, the Holy Family escaped to Egypt and eventually returned to Palestine-an echo of the great Exodus of the Old Testament. Conti trained in Rome but eventually made his career in Florence. Even given the pale colors, balletic poses, and attenuated forms, the sharp contrasts of dark and light, with figures emerging from deep shadow, attests to the long shadow of Caravaggio even in Florence a century later.

Provenance

Gabriello Riccardi (Florence, Italy), 1735 Kurt Rossacher, Salzburg, Austria, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974.

Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1974. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 11-April 6, 1975).

Quick Overview

Artist: Francesco Conti (Italian, 1681–1760)
Date: 1735
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: Framed: 136.5 x 102.5 x 6 cm (53 3/4 x 40 3/8 x 2 3/8 in.); Unframed: 118.2 x 84.2 cm (46 9/16 x 33 1/8 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: European Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
Accession no.: 1974.2

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.