Artwork
Paysage avec le repos pendant la fuite en Egypte
Paysage avec le repos pendant la fuite en Egypte is an oil painting by Claude Lorrain. It dates from 1644 and is held in the collection of the Hamburger Kunsthalle.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1644, this oil painting by Claude Lorrain presents a quiet moment set within an expansive, idealised landscape. A small group of figures—parents and children—rest beside a tree trunk, while a distant horizon fades into gentle hills and a pale sky. The composition balances intimate human activity with a broad natural setting, inviting contemplation of both narrative and scenery.
Subject & Meaning
The scene portrays a family taking respite during the biblical Flight into Egypt, a theme frequently rendered by Lorrain to fuse devotional narrative with pastoral tranquility. By minimizing the number of figures and placing them within a lush environment, the work emphasizes the protective serenity of nature as a backdrop to divine providence, suggesting a harmonious relationship between humanity and the natural world.
Technique & Style
The foreground is anchored by a massive tree trunk on the right, while delicate foliage and a distant water body recede into a hazy horizon.
Lorrain employs a luminous palette, using soft, diffused light to model forms and create atmospheric depth. The foreground is anchored by a massive tree trunk on the right, while delicate foliage and a distant water body recede into a hazy horizon. His handling of oil allows for smooth transitions between light and shadow, producing the characteristic Baroque sense of space and calm movement within the landscape.
History & Provenance
Although born in France, Lorrain spent most of his career in Italy, where he pioneered landscape as an autonomous genre. This particular work entered the collection of the Hamburger Kunsthalle, where it remains on display. Its acquisition reflects the 19th‑century European interest in Lorrain’s idealised visions of nature and their influence on subsequent landscape traditions.
Artist & collection
Artist
Claude Lorrain (French: ; born Claude Gellée , called le Lorrain in French; traditionally just Claude in English; c.
