Artwork
Rest on the Flight to Egypt
Rest on the Flight to Egypt is a paint painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder. It dates from 1504 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The Holy Family is arranged in a triangular composition, slightly off-center to the right, with vertical trees reinforcing the structure behind them.
The painting depicts the Rest on the Flight into Egypt, a popular devotional subject drawn from the apocryphal episode in which the Holy Family pauses during their journey to Egypt to escape Herod's persecution. Cranach shows the Christ Child standing nude on the Virgin Mary's thigh; Mary is dressed in a long red robe, while Joseph accompanies them. Eight cherubs attend the group: some play flutes, and one offers flowers to the infant Jesus, lending the scene a tender, celebratory tone.
Rather than rendering the biblical desert, Cranach sets the rest in the South German pre-Alpine landscape familiar to him, treated in the somewhat dramatic, idealized manner of the Danube school. The Holy Family is arranged in a triangular composition, slightly off-center to the right, with vertical trees reinforcing the structure behind them. The work is regarded as one of the high points of Cranach's early career.
Technique & Style
Created in 1504, Rest on the Flight to Egypt is an oil painting executed on a lime wood panel. The work measures 70.9 cm in height and 53 cm in width, presenting a vertical format typical of the artist's early religious compositions. Stylistically, the painting reflects the dramatic and idealized characteristics of the Danube School, substituting the biblical desert with a landscape reminiscent of the southern German Prealps.
The composition arranges the Holy Family in a triangular formation slightly offset to the right, with vertical tree lines in the background enhancing the structure. The scene depicts the Virgin Mary in a long red robe holding the nude Christ Child, surrounded by eight cherubs, some of whom play flutes while one offers flowers to the infant.
History & Provenance
Rest on the Flight to Egypt was created by Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1504, executed in oil on a limewood panel. The work is regarded as one of the high points of Cranach's career and depicts the Holy Family resting during their flight, set against the southern German pre-Alpine landscape familiar to the artist rather than the biblical desert.
The painting was acquired in 1902 and has since been held in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, Germany, where it remains part of the museum's collection.
The painting "Rest on the Flight to Egypt" by Lucas Cranach the Elder is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, Germany. The work was acquired by the museum in 1902. Created in 1504, this oil painting on a lime wood panel depicts the Holy Family accompanied by eight angels within a landscape reminiscent of the southern German pre-Alps rather than a biblical desert setting.
Context
Created in 1504, Lucas Cranach the Elder's Rest on the Flight to Egypt is considered a high point in the artist's career. The painting treats a popular religious subject, the Holy Family pausing during their biblical flight, but reimagines the setting. Rather than depicting the expected desert, Cranach situates the scene in the familiar, idealized landscape of the southern German Pre-Alps, rendered with the dramatic sensibility characteristic of the Danubian school.
The composition arranges the Holy Family in a triangular formation slightly off-center to the right, anchored by vertical tree lines behind them. Acquired in 1902, the work is held in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin.
Overview
Created in 1504, this oil painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder portrays the biblical episode of the Flight into Egypt. The work is part of the collection of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin and presents a tranquil, wooded setting in which the Holy Family is accompanied by celestial figures.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Lucas Cranach the Elder was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving.
