Rest on the Flight into Egypt

Artist Master of 1518 (Netherlandish, active from 1518)

Artist Master of the Female Half-Lengths (Netherlandish, active first half of 16th century)

Artistpossibly Jan Mertens the younger (Netherlandish, about 1470 – about1527)

Date16th century

Mediumoil on wood panel transferred to canvas

Dimensionscanvas: 68.3 x 96.7 cm (26 7/8 x 38 1/16 in.)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineStoddard Acquisition Fund

Terms

canvas

Object number1995.15

Label Text2003-12-11: REST ON THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT Master of 1518/Master of the Female Half-Lengths Flemish, 16th century Oil on panel transferred to canvas Stoddard Acquisition Fund, 1995.15 This painting appears to be the work of two leading Antwerp artists, each named after his best known works, the Master of 1518 and the Master of the Female Half-Lengths. Painted in Antwerp, the same town where artist Quentin Massys painted the same subject, the two works are very similar in style and content. Unlike Massys or Poussin, however, the two artists here combined their talents to focus on the various adventures during the journey of the Holy Family rather than on the figures themselves or the emotion of the scene. According to the gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, a palm tree under which the family rested bent its branches at the order of the infant Christ so that they could gather its fruit. Once Mary, Joseph and Jesus reached Egypt, the Pseudo-Matthew account states that Mary and the baby entered into a temple, causing all the idols to fall to the ground in front of them. In the painting a broken gold statue lies at the base of the column at the left to indicate this part of the narrative.ProvenanceNelson Goodman, Weston, MA

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