Rest on the Flight into Egypt (David, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp)

Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Artist Gerard David Edit this on Wikidata
Year c.1515
Location Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
Accession No. 47 Edit this on Wikidata
Identifiers RKDimages ID: 45632

The Rest on the Flight into Egypt is an oil painting of around 1515 by the Flemish painter Gerard David now in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp.[1] It can be compared with other works on the same theme by the same painter in Madrid, Washington and New York and a Virgin and Child in Rotterdam.

The Flight into Egypt derives from the Gospel of Matthew (II.13-18), though it does not mention a rest, which derives from apcryphal accounts. It was a popular theme for painters in many periods. David painted it on several occasions using different compositions,[2] possibly not as the result of commissions but simply painted to put on the open market. Many of them are near-identical but for a few small details. However, in all of them David focuses attention on the seated Virgin Mary breastfeeding the Christ Child, enthroned in front of a deep forest landscape background. In the far background there is usually a scene related to either the rest or to the journey to Egypt.

The Antwerp version replaces the Prado version's background scene of the Flight into Egypt with a scene of Joseph and the donkey resting. It is held by some to be a copy by Adrian Isenbrandt.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Mª Ángeles Piquero López. "El Descanso… del Museo del Prado" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-06-14.
  2. ↑ "David, Rest on the Flight into Egypt". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
  3. ↑ "David, Rest on the Flight into Egypt". Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
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