Phillipe de CHAMPAIGNE (Bruxelles 1602 - Paris 1674)

The Rest of the Holy Family during the Flight to Egypt Pen and brown ink, grey wash 18 x 21.5 cm Restored losses at the bottom, small tear of 3 cm, insolate, small stains After the death of Jean Baptiste de Champaigne, who had taken over his uncle's studio, Plattemontagne inventoried seventeen portfolios of various drawings. It is therefore known that many of Philippe de Champaigne's drawings were dispersed, but today we know of only about sixty. The rediscovery of one of his drawings is always exceptional. Our drawing can be compared stylistically to "The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple", now in the Metropolitan Museum (see F. Lanoe, "Three Masters of Drawing. Philippe de Champaigne/Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne/Nicolas de Plattemontagne", exhibition catalog 2009, n°13, repr.). We find the same mixture of gray wash and pen and brown ink, which Champaigne used when he made a complete composition drawing, no doubt to present it to his patron.