''The Rest on the Flight into Egypt'', also called ''The Rest on the Return from the Flight into Egypt'' is a circa 1530 oil painting by the

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

Renaissance painter Paris Bordone. It is on display in the Musée des Beaux-Arts of

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, France. Its inventory number is 176.

History

The work was painted around 1530 as an

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

for the Benedictine church ''Santa Maria della Misericordia'' of Noale (today the parish church ''Chiesa dell'Assunta''). It was bought in London in 1890 by Wilhelm von Bode, from the collection of

Charles Fairfax Murray Charles Fairfax Murray (30 September 1849 – 25 January 1919) was a British painter, dealer, collector, benefactor, and art historian who was connected with the second wave of the Pre-Raphaelites. Early years The youngest of four children, ...

. The painting was restaured in 1965.

Description

The painting depicts a sleeping

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

, the babies Jesus and John the Baptist playing with a lamb, and Mary, being approached from the right by an older woman with distinctly " gypsy" features. Some art historians have identified her as Saint Elisabeth, which would account for the presence of John the Baptist and the pictured moment being on the return from Egypt instead of on the way there. It does not, however, explain why Mary would, in that case, have the bewildered gaze and gesture with which Bordone represented her, nor what the solemn and distant attitude of "Elisabeth" would stand for.
Another theory states that this woman is a gypsy fortune-teller, announcing the future fate of both boys. Gypsies (''Zingari'') were a recurring subject in Venetian painting, influenced by Giorgione's famous '' The Tempest''. A 2015 interpretation of the painting claims that it is inspired by the ''

Syriac Infancy Gospel The Syriac Infancy Gospel, also known as the Arabic Infancy Gospel, is a New Testament apocryphal writing concerning the infancy of Jesus. It may have been compiled as early as the sixth century, and was partly based on the Infancy Gospel of Thom ...

'', in which Mary, on her way to Egypt, would frequently be approached by sick people in search of a miraculous healing, which she would always grant them. In that case, the "Gypsy" would be an old

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

showing facial symptoms of the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

, a disease of which Paris Bordone was afraid as well.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rest on the Flight into Egypt Paintings in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg Renaissance paintings Italian paintings 1530 paintings Bordone Oil on canvas paintings