Artwork
Landscape with the Flight into Egypt
Landscape with the Flight into Egypt is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Herri met de Bles. It dates from 1525 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting underscores the integration of sacred story and landscape, reflecting Renaissance interpretations of biblical episodes through visual storytelling.
Herri met de Bles depicts the biblical Flight into Egypt within a landscape setting, merging narrative and scenery in the early Netherlandish tradition. The work presents the Holy Family's journey into Egypt as a symbolic event, often interpreted as representing divine protection and fulfillment of prophecy. This subject draws on contemporary religious iconography, emphasizing the sacred narrative within a naturalistic environment.
The painting underscores the integration of sacred story and landscape, reflecting Renaissance interpretations of biblical episodes through visual storytelling. Its depiction aligns with theological themes of pilgrimage and divine guidance, resonating within the religious art practices of 16th-century Europe.
The subject is identified as the Flight into Egypt, a scene tied to the Holy Family's escape, which carries layered meanings of refuge, divine purpose, and spiritual journey. This narrative choice highlights the interplay between earthly landscapes and sacred events, a hallmark of Herri met de Bles' approach to religious subjects.
The work belongs to the genre of landscape painting infused with religious narrative, reflecting the period's artistic synthesis of nature and scripture.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in oil paint on a wooden panel measuring 36 × 57 cm. Its small scale and oil medium are consistent with early-sixteenth-century Netherlandish panel painting practice. The composition marries landscape and religious genres: the Flight into Egypt serves as the narrative pretext for an expansive natural setting. This dual orientation, sacred subject within a dominant landscape, characterizes the painting's formal structure and reflects the emerging autonomy of landscape as a genre in Northern European art of the period.
Context
Created in 1525 by Herri met de Bles, Landscape with the Flight into Egypt exemplifies the Northern Renaissance tradition of integrating biblical narratives within expansive, detailed natural settings. The work, executed in oil on panel, is currently held by the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen. As a landscape painting with religious subject matter, it reflects the artist's broader practice of embedding the Flight into Egypt as a central motif within complex topographical scenes.
This synthesis of sacred history and secular landscape observation marks the piece as a significant example of 16th-century Flemish art, where the natural world often serves as the primary stage for scriptural events. The painting's composition and execution align with the wider artistic context of Herri met de Bles, who was known for his intricate mountainous terrains and atmospheric effects.
Overview
Created in 1525, this oil painting by the Flemish artist Herri met de Bles, also recorded as Henri Bles or Herry de Patinir, depicts a biblical journey set within an extensive countryside. The work combines a narrative of the Flight into Egypt with a broad, atmospheric landscape that stretches from a foreground road to a distant town under a clear sky.
History & Provenance
The painting has been part of the Statens Museum for Kunst’s collection in Copenhagen. Its attribution to Herri met de Bles aligns with the artist’s known output of small-scale, narrative landscapes produced during the Northern Renaissance and early Mannerist periods.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Herri met de Bles, also known as Henri Bles, Herri de Dinant, Herry de Patinir,(c.
