The Return of the Holy Family from Egypt

The Return of the Holy Family from Egypt

Nicolás Enríquez

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Nicolás Enríquez, whose career spanned more than six decades, is best known as a specialist in paintings on copper. He frequently based his compositions on European prints, as he did in this painting, which derives from a work by the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640). The popularity of the subject, in which the heavenly Trinity is mirrored by the earthly one of the Holy Family, can be attributed to the growing importance of the cult of Saint Joseph. The saint, depicted here as a youthful spouse and father, was made patron of New Spain in 1555.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Return of the Holy Family from EgyptThe Return of the Holy Family from EgyptThe Return of the Holy Family from EgyptThe Return of the Holy Family from EgyptThe Return of the Holy Family from Egypt

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.