The Flight into Egypt
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
Dominant colour
The Flight into Egypt is a 1653 by Herman van Swanevelt, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
The painting shows the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt. They are traveling with angels behind them. The story is told in four scenes, which is unusual. The artist breaks the story into smaller moments. We see Joseph helping Mary off the donkey and leading it to water. These details make the story feel more personal. This style is similar to works by other Dutch artists, check out the museum where this is kept, The Cleveland Museum of Art.
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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