Art in Focus: Unknown Italian artist, Rest on the Flight Into Egypt

Join an engaging, informal gallery conversation focused on a single artwork on view in "Hieroglyphs to Hype"! Join us as we discuss the artwork Rest on the Flight Into Egypt by Unknown Italian artist, in an informal setting, led by Curator of Education and Academic Engagement Michelle DiMarzo! Please note: This event takes place at the Jesuit Community Center (Ignatius Hall) located directly behind Bellarmine Hall. Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Modern Afterlife of Ancient Egypt is curated by Megan Paqua (adjunct instructor of ancient Egyptian archaeology and art history and Fairfield University Art Museum Registrar) and will be on view from September 18 - December 12, 2026 in the Bellarmine Hall Galleries. About the exhibition: This exhibition will explore the enduring fascination with ancient Egyptian art and culture (dubbed “Egyptomania” by 19th-century Europeans) through a selection of paintings, prints, photographs, and decorative art ranging from the early 19th century through the present day. These objects, from the humble to the refined, from the shamelessly commercial to the Afrofuturist, represent the range of artistic responses to – and misconceptions about – ancient Egyptian visual culture. Paradoxically, this enthusiasm for Egyptian symbols and motifs contributed to the erasure of the ancient Egyptian people themselves, as their beliefs and customs became exoticized in popular memory. The exhibition will examine how these objects reflect the phenomenon of “Egyptomania” over the last two centuries and will position their oversimplified or stereotypical narratives in conversation with current archaeological understandings of ancient Egyptian culture. Unknown Italian artist, Flight Into Egypt, 18th century, oil on canvas. Gift of Roche Family / Ed Roche ’76, 2021 (CAC2021.03.01)