The Rest on the Flight into Egypt at a Fountain

Carved in wood, the print displays Altdorfer’s precise line work and dense hatching, allowing intricate textures in foliage, stone, and fabric. The layout balances foreground activity with a receding backdrop of columns and a darkened sky, reflecting the Danube School’s interest in integrating landscape as an autonomous visual element.

Altdorfer, a prominent German Renaissance artist based in Regensburg, produced the print during his mature period. Though primarily known for painting, he contributed to the Nuremberg Little Masters, a group noted for finely detailed engravings and woodcuts. The work survives in several museum collections, attesting to its continued scholarly interest.

Created at a time when Renaissance artists began to treat nature as a subject in its own right, the print exemplifies a shift from purely narrative compositions to ones where setting conveys mood and meaning. Altdorfer’s integration of a lively, almost theatrical landscape anticipates later developments in Northern European printmaking.