Artwork
The Flight into Egypt
The Flight into Egypt is an oil painting by Salvator Rosa. It dates from 1654 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1654, this oil painting by the Italian Baroque artist Salvator Rosa portrays the biblical episode of the Holy Family’s escape to Egypt. Executed in a landscape format, the work is part of the collection of Denmark’s Statens Museum for Kunst and exemplifies Rosa’s penchant for placing narrative scenes within expansive, natural settings.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a woman cradling an infant, accompanied by a male figure, likely representing Mary and Joseph, while additional figures appear in the distance. The mother’s robe and the man’s dark cloak convey modesty, and the infant’s nudity underscores vulnerability. A basket of fruit rests nearby, hinting at the journey’s hardships and the providence that sustains them.
Technique & Style
Rosa employs a dramatic yet controlled palette, using chiaroscuro to model the figures against a luminous sky and a verdant foreground. The brushwork suggests a tactile rendering of foliage and water, while the overall atmosphere remains tranquil. This blend of naturalistic detail with a theatrical sense of space reflects the artist’s characteristic Baroque sensibility.
History & Provenance
The painting entered the Statens Museum for Kunst’s holdings in the 20th century, though earlier ownership records are sparse. Rosa, known during his lifetime as a poet, satirist, and printmaker as well as a painter, produced this work amid his prolific period in Naples, Rome, and Florence, where he cultivated a reputation for dramatic, untamed landscapes.
Artist & collection
Artist
Salvator Rosa (1615 – 15 March 1673) is best known today as an Italian Baroque painter, whose romanticised landscapes and history paintings, often set in dark and untamed nature, exerted considerable influence from the 17th century into…
The Flight into Egypt
Mystic marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria
The Rest on the Fligth into Egypt
Geburt Christi (Art des)
The Rest on the Fligth into Egypt
Heilige Familie
Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist as a Child
Vermählung der hl. Katharina (Kopie nach)
The Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Die mystische Vermählung der hl. Katharina (Kopie nach)
Holy family with Young St John the Baptist and an angel
Maria mit dem Kind (?)