Artwork
Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Rest on the Flight into Egypt is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Pier Francesco Mola. It dates from 1649 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
According to these legends, the Christ Child miraculously caused trees to bend down to feed the family and a spring to gush forth to quench their thirst.
Pier Francesco Mola's painting illustrates the apocryphal Rest on the Flight into Egypt, a theme drawn from medieval legends rather than the biblical narrative of the Holy Family's flight from Herod. According to these legends, the Christ Child miraculously caused trees to bend down to feed the family and a spring to gush forth to quench their thirst. Mola depicts the Virgin Mary reaching for the infant Jesus while the elderly Saint Joseph reclines nearby, the Holy Family sharing a picnic of fruit amid lush deciduous trees.
In the background, an angel guides a donkey to drink from the spring created by the Child. The donkey carries messianic symbolism in Christian iconography, reinforcing the identification of Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. Together, the miracle-working Child, the nurturing landscape, and the attendant angel convey themes of divine providence and protection during the family's perilous journey.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1649 by Pier Francesco Mola, the painting is an oil on copper measuring 22.9 × 27.9 cm. The copper support, typical of Mola's small-scale cabinet pictures, provides a smooth, reflective ground that allows for precise, jewel-like handling and sharp optical definition. The artist's brushwork is delicate and controlled, emphasizing crisp contours and finely modeled forms in the drapery and figures. Stylistically, the composition blends naturalistic detail with a restrained Baroque sensibility: foliage is rendered with botanical accuracy, while the figures, Mary, the Christ Child, and Joseph, are arranged in a quiet, pyramidal grouping that directs attention to the central interaction.
The scene's luminous palette and polished surface heighten the narrative's intimacy, underscoring the miraculous yet tender moment of rest during the Holy Family's flight.
History & Provenance
The Rest on the Flight into Egypt is an oil painting on copper by Pier Francesco Mola, dated to 1649 (or circa 1649) and considered by art historian Richard Cocke to be the earliest of his six treatments of the theme. Before entering the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the work's ownership history is not detailed in the available sources. In 1993 it was given to the Met as part of the Wrightsman Fund's gift, and as of January 2011 it was on public view in the museum's collection. The piece is occasionally exhibited as part of thematic displays on Baroque religious art.
Context
Pier Francesco Mola, an Italian Baroque painter active in the mid-17th century, executed Rest on the Flight into Egypt in 1649 as an oil work on copper. The painting entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art through the Wrightsman Fund in 1993 and is displayed in New York. Mola's depiction draws on a medieval legend in which the Holy Family's pause triggers a miraculous spring and bending trees, a motif widely reproduced in Baroque art.
Scholarship identifies this work as the earliest of Mola's six compositions on the theme, noted for its naturalistic landscape and the intimate interaction among Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus. Its composition, featuring the Virgin reaching for Christ, the reclining Saint Joseph, and an angel guiding a donkey to the spring, exemplifies the genre of religious art that Mola frequently explored.
Legacy
The work Rest on the Flight into Egypt, painted by Pier Francesco Mola in 1649, entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art via the Wrightsman Fund in 1993 and has been displayed to the public since at least January 2011. Its acquisition added a notable Baroque example of the Holy Family motif to the museum's collection, which had previously been documented in the museum's catalogue as a religious painting on copper measuring 22.9 × 27.9 cm. The painting's visibility in the Met's galleries has contributed to renewed scholarly discussion of Mola's role in popularizing the Flight into Egypt theme in early modern art.
Overview
Pier Francesco Mola, an Italian Baroque painter (1612–1666), created Rest on the Flight into Egypt in the mid-17th century. This oil painting on copper depicts a moment of respite for the Holy Family during their journey to Egypt. The work is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, showcasing Mola's engagement with a frequently represented theme in Christian art. Its small scale and distinctive medium contribute to its visual character.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Pier Francesco Mola, called Il Ticinese was an Italian painter of the High Baroque, mainly active around Rome.
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