The Flight into Egypt c. 1767 - 1770

Editor: Here we have Tiepolo's *The Flight into Egypt* from around 1767 to 1770, rendered in oil paint. I’m struck by how earthly and almost theatrical it feels. What are your thoughts? Curator: Well, let's consider the materials first. Oil paint allows for that luminosity, that layering, which really creates the dramatic effect. And Tiepolo, like many Venetian painters of his time, was deeply involved in the decorative arts. Were those collaborations, and the financial structures behind them, not relevant to these large-scale paintings we admire so much today? Editor: That’s interesting. It hadn’t occurred to me to think about his practice like that. Curator: Think of the pigment trade, for instance. The blues in Mary’s robe – how were those acquired, what was their value? This work is just as much a product of those economic factors as it is of Tiepolo’s artistic genius. Also, look at how he handles the rocky terrain. Is he really attempting realism or is that instead creating a dramatic setting like a stage? Editor: You're suggesting that the setting is less about accurately depicting nature and more about framing this moment, almost manufacturing a mood. Curator: Exactly. And who would be consuming such a scene? Who had access to these precious materials and this level of artistry? It tells you a great deal about the social structures in place at that time. And it makes you think – whose story are we really seeing here? Editor: That really shifts my understanding of the work. It is not only a scene of refuge but speaks volumes of its historical context in the consumption and labor of materials. Thank you for your insights!