Rest on the Flight into Egypt 

Jean-Louis Forain created this etching, "Rest on the Flight into Egypt", late in the 19th century, an era of great social change and institutional critique. Forain, immersed in the Parisian art scene, uses a biblical scene, the Flight into Egypt, as a framework to explore contemporary themes of poverty, displacement, and the struggle for survival. The loose, sketchy lines, typical of the etching technique, convey a sense of urgency and instability, mirroring the precarious existence of those on the margins of society. The image pointedly evokes a scene of refugees, an image that resonates with the political instability of late 19th-century France. We know, for example, that the Third Republic was a time of great division, with many people suffering economic hardship. As historians, our understanding deepens by researching the socio-political conditions of the time. By examining newspapers, political pamphlets, and institutional records, we can uncover the complex layers of meaning embedded in Forain's "Rest on the Flight into Egypt".