PARIS – The French government has agreed to buy the 17th-century masterpiece “The Flight Into Egypt” by French painter Nicolas Poussin.

The painting, which depicts an angel guiding the Holy family, was sold by an unidentified private owner for an undisclosed sum, the culture ministry said Tuesday in a statement.

It will be displayed at the Louvre Museum before becoming a part of the permanent collection of the Fine Arts Museum in Lyon. The city, in southeastern France, was the hometown of Jacques Serisier, a rich 17th-century merchant who was among Poussin’s first collectors.

Both museums and about 20 private donors chipped in to help buy the painting, the statement said.

Painted in 1657-1658, “The Flight Into Egypt” was initially attributed not to Poussin but to his workshop.

Following its attribution to Poussin, a lengthy legal battle ensued between the French state and the work’s owner, who wanted to sell it to foreign buyers. In 2004, France classified the painting as a national treasure, making it impossible to export. The export ban was up in 2007, forcing the government to buy the painting at market value or risk having it leave the country.

The painting’s purchase “safeguards a masterpiece of the national artistic patrimony,” the statement said.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)