The Rest on the Flight into Egypt

Fearing King Herod, Joseph, Mary and Jesus fled to Egypt. The family only returned to Nazareth once Herod had died. This is what we are told in the gospel according to St Matthew. Over the centuries a number of details were added to the story. This subject became very popular from the Renaissance period onwards. Here we see the family…

Fearing King Herod, Joseph, Mary and Jesus fled to Egypt. The family only returned to Nazareth once Herod had died. This is what we are told in the gospel according to St Matthew. Over the centuries a number of details were added to the story. This subject became very popular from the Renaissance period onwards. Here we see the family resting on the flight into Egypt and the moment when Mary succours her Child. The soft folds of Mary’s mantel envelop mother and child in a central triangle. The fuzzy chiaroscuro effect and hazy light surrounding the small, slender figure of Mary is typical of Adriaen Isenbrant’s style. Isenbrant was one of the most important artists in Bruges during the first half of the sixteenth century.