The Flight into Egypt is an oil-on-copper cabinet painting – a small painting that measures no more than two feet in either dimension, but is often much smaller. Cabinet paintings are especially used for landscapes or full-length figures drawn at a smaller-than-lifesize scale.
German artist Adam Elsheimer spent some time in Rome, which is where this painting originated from in about 1609. It is considered the first natural rendering of the night sky in Renaissance art, though its concept dates much older than that. Like other artists, Elsheimer chose the biblical Flight into Egypt as his inspiration, referring to Joseph, Mary, and Jesus seeking refuge from Herod’s persecution.
This is one of his most well-known works, and probably his last painting, completed a year before his death.
Read more about The Flight into Egypt here.
Browse more artworks from the 1600s on Academia Aesthetics here.
