The Flight into Egypt. Artist: Luca Giordano (Italian, Naples 1634-1705 Naples). Dimensions: 24 1/4 x 19 1/4 in. (61.5 x 48.9 cm).
In 1692 Giordano was summoned to Spain as court painter to King Charles II. Charles was succeeded in 1700 by the Bourbon king Philip V, who commissioned a number of paintings from Giordano for the French court, including this work. From 1701 until 1717 the painting was in the possession of Adrien-Maurice, comte d'Ayen, later duc de Noailles, who played an important part in the War of the Spanish Succession and married a niece of Madame de Maintenon.