Italian school; 17th century.

Italian School; 17th century.
“The Flight into Egypt.”
Oil on canvas. Relined.
The paint layer shows some loss.
Measurements: 62 x 46 cm; 70 x 53 cm (frame).
This painting follows the classical models associated with the depiction of this subject, featuring the Holy Family and the donkey that serves as Mary’s mount, with the infant Jesus in her lap. They are accompanied by angels who guide their way. However, the artist presents the scene as a family portrait in a naturalistic and folk-art style, in which the landscape also plays a prominent role—a device typical of the Baroque style.
This work depicts an episode that is very common in Christian art, although it is mentioned only in the Gospel of Matthew (2:13–15). It is a symbolic episode, constructed by the evangelist to justify the prophecy of Hosea: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Matthew misinterprets this prophecy, since the words did not refer to Jesus, but to the people of Israel freed from slavery in Egypt by the Lord. Nevertheless, Matthew’s brief account was expanded upon by the apocryphal Gospels and the Golden Legend, which added fictional elements such as the miracles of the ears of grain and the palm tree, the attack by bandits, and the toppling of the idols of Egypt, thereby shaping an entirely new iconography.