The Donkey Led to the River
1653
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
Artist
Herman van Swanevelt
Herman van Swanevelt (1603–1655) was a Dutch artist, born in Woerden.
See the richer artist page1653
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The Donkey Led to the River is a 1653 by Herman van Swanevelt, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
The painting shows a donkey being led to a river by Joseph, with Mary and the Christ child in the background. This scene is part of a series depicting the Flight into Egypt. It's interesting that the artist broke this story into four scenes, rather than showing it as one event. To learn more about the use of light and shadow in this painting, look into the technique of chiaroscuro.
This series by Herman Swanevelt, The Flight into Egypt, illustrates an event from the New Testament of the Bible. Joseph, Mary, and Christ fled into Egypt to escape King Herod's persecution. Traditionally represented as a single image, Swanevelt enlarged the story into four scenes. The Holy family is first shown traveling with three angels behind them, then Joseph helps Mary off the donkey, next Joseph leads the donkey to water as Mary changes the child, and finally the family is at rest. However, the main focus of each of these prints is the depiction of landscape, a genre that reached…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Herman van Swanevelt (1603–1655) was a Dutch artist, born in Woerden.
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