The Rest on the Flight into Egypt 1737

Francois Boucher painted 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' using oil on canvas. The artist was active in the Rococo period, so it is useful to consider the relationship between the style and the modes of production at the time. The way in which the oil paint has been applied is very free and painterly. It is not about smooth surfaces and seamless brushwork. It's a celebration of skill and a signifier of luxury. Look closely, and you can almost feel the swift movements of the brush, the creamy texture of the paint, and the luminous colours achieved through layering and blending. The canvas would have been carefully prepared with layers of gesso, then expertly handled with brushes that were themselves finely made objects. This opulent aesthetic was cultivated in the court of Louis XV, where the artist worked, and it's important to see this artwork in that context. The painting and the processes used to make it, is all about visual pleasure, sensual surfaces, and celebrating a rarified lifestyle. This emphasis on surface and ornamentation can be seen as a marker of its own value.