Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Francesco Granacci
#AntiqueMasterpieces"Examine details and develop insights by looking more closely at individual objects in the collection, such as Francesco Granacci's Rest on the Flight into Egypt. This example of the High Renaissance style is by an artist who was a close friend to Michelangelo. Pause just a moment to watch, listen, and learn.
This work is one of the best examples in the M&G collection of the High Renaissance style.
Granacci trained alongside Michelangelo in the studio of Domenico Ghirlandaio.
Ghirlandaio was a prominent painter in his own right,
and his large, bustling studio produced numerous frescoes for wealthy Florentine merchants.
Although Granacci was six years older than Michelangelo,
the two became lifelong friends, and the continuing influence of Michelangelo over Granacci
is clearly seen in this painting's monumental, though gracefully sculpted figures.
Leonardo da Vinci's influence is also apparent in Granacci's use of atmospheric perspective.
Leonardo was the first artist to explore how atmosphere affects distance.
Through his study, he discovered that the more distant an object, the less defined and bluer it becomes.
This technique is evident in the hills of Granacci's landscape.