Monday, January 23, 2017

The Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Part I of 3

Miracle of the Palm Tree
Spanish, c.1490-1510
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art
“And it came to pass on the third day of their journey, while they were walking, that the blessed Mary was fatigued by the excessive heat of the sun in the desert; and seeing a palm tree, she said to Joseph: Let me rest a little under the shade of this tree. Joseph therefore made haste, and led her to the palm, and made her come down from her beast.
And as the blessed Mary was sitting there, she looked up to the foliage of the palm, and saw it full of fruit, and said to Joseph: I wish it were possible to get some of the fruit of this palm. And Joseph said to her: I wonder that you say this, when you see how high the palm tree is; and that you think of eating of its fruit. I am thinking more of the want of water, because the skins are now empty, and we have none wherewith to refresh ourselves and our cattle.
Then the child Jesus, with a joyful countenance, reposing in the bosom of His mother, said to the palm: O tree, bend your branches, and refresh my mother with your fruit. And immediately at these words the palm bent its top down to the very feet of the blessed Mary; and they gathered from it fruit, with which they were all refreshed. And after they had gathered all its fruit, it remained bent down, waiting the order to rise from Him who had commanded it to stoop. Then Jesus said to it: Raise yourself, O palm tree, and be strong, and be the companion of my trees, which are in the paradise of my Father; and open from your roots a vein of water which has been hid in the earth, and let the waters flow, so that we may be satisfied from you.
And it rose up immediately, and at its root there began to come forth a spring of water exceedingly clear and cool and sparkling. And when they saw the spring of water, they rejoiced with great joy, and were satisfied, themselves and all their cattle and their beasts. Wherefore they gave thanks to God.”
The “Gospel” of Pseudo-Matthew 1

In two earlier articles I have discussed the iconography of the Flight into Egypt. 2   In this article I will begin to discuss the iconography of the related subject of The Rest on the Flight into Egypt.  While the Flight has its basis in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:13-15), the text dealing with the Rest on the Flight comes from an extra-Biblical source, the apocryphal writing known as the “Gospel” of Pseudo-Matthew, part of which is quoted above.  

Presumably the trip from Judea to Egypt would have required several days of walking to complete, so the necessity for several rest periods is implicit in the Gospel text.  The apocryphal writers simply embroidered the simple idea that a rest or rests would have been needed in order to complement the Gospel account.   

The open-endedness of the subject, due to the extra-Biblical character of the source material, far less binding than would have been required for a Biblical account, left artists free to invent details and explore some of the implications of the Incarnation at the beginning of Jesus’ life.  
Pier Francesco, Mola, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Italian, 1635-1637
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

What is also interesting, however, is that there is a considerable amount of material related in Pseudo-Matthew about the journey of the Holy Family into Egypt that was not chosen for illustration by artists.  Among these are, Jesus’ defeat of several fierce dragons who were initially menacing, but who, on recognizing Jesus, bowed down and adored him and left the little party alone (Pseudo-Matthew, Chapter 18); their “bodyguard” of lions and panthers, subdued by Jesus, who accompanied them and protected the ox cart carrying their food (Pseudo-Matthew, Chapter 19).3    Apparently, certain parts of the story captured the interest of artists and their patrons and certain parts did not.

There are probably thousands of works of art called “Rest on the Flight into Egypt”.    I have often been amused, as well as amazed, to see how times the subject appears in the oeuvre of artists from the later Middle Ages to the present.  After an extensive, but by no means exhaustive, search for images of the subject I found dozens and dozens of pictures imagining the embroidered tales of the Rest.  They appear to fall into several general categories, depending on what approach the artist has taken to the subject.  Each is slightly different, of course, and many use combinations of the subject treatments that I have established.  However, I present them here with the proviso that there are undoubtedly many, many more that I have not yet seen and which may also present differing details. 

The Rest Featuring Fruit and Flowers

The earliest pictures of the “Rest on the Flight into Egypt” that I have found come from the fourteenth century and are based directly on the passage from the Pseudo-Matthew story that is quoted at the top of this article.  In these images, Mary, who is either seated on the ground or still seated on the donkey, has expressed her wish for some of the dates from the palm tree.  Jesus has already issued his command to the tree, which is usually seen already bowed down, while St. Joseph harvests the dates.  He is sometimes assisted by angels, who are visualized as the means by which the tree bowed. 

Master of the Roman de Fauvel, Miracle of the Palm Tree
from Speculum historiale of Vincentius Bellovacensis
French (Paris), 1333-1334
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 316, fol. 307

Miracle of the Palm Tree
from Speculum historiale of Vincentius Bellovacensis
French (Paris), c.1370-1380
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Nouvelle acquisition francaise 15940, fol. 28v





















Over time the bending of the tree ceased and it became angels alone who harvested the dates and brought them to the Child.
Ludwig Juppe, Miracle of the Palm Tree
German, 1510-1520
Steinau (Main), Uerzell, Schloss Uerzeller, Chapel






















Also over time the fruits changed from dates to other kinds of fruit.  Most prominent among the early pictures and continuing for centuries thereafter were grapes.  Grapes have a special significance in Christian iconography.  They are references to the Eucharistic wine which is transformed during the Mass to the Blood of Christ, thus bringing a tone of sadness to the scene as it reminds the observant and aware viewer of the reason behind this unusual Baby’s birth which is the sacrificial death of Jesus for the redemption of humanity from the inclination to sin brought on by Adam’s disobedience in the garden of Eden. 4

Lucas Cranach the Elder, Rest on Flight into Egypt
German, 1504
Berlin, Staatliche Museen

Gerard David, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Flemish, c.1510
Washington, National Gallery of Art























Ippolito Andreasi, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Italian, c.1600
Paris, Musee du Louvre
Corrado Giaquinto, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Italian, c.1740-1742
Paris, Musee du Louvre


Jacques Stella, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
French, 1652
Madrid, Museo del Prado

In conjunction with the reminder of the Passion and Redemption and Eucharistic Presence triggered by the appearance of grapes in the fruits offered to the Christ Child, the Fall itself is included in the Rest on the Flight when apples are among the fruit offerings.5

Gerard David, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Flemish, c.1512-1515
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pieter Lastman, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Dutch, 1620
London, National Gallery





















Abraham Bloemaert, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Dutch, 1632
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum


Pietro da Cortona, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Italian, c.1643
Munich, Alte Pinakothek
Jan Baptist Weenix, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Dutch, c.1647-1650
Philadelphia, Museum of Art























Cosmas Damian Asam, Rest on Flight into Egypt
German, 1725-1726
Kladruby, Monastery Church of the Assumption

Also frequently appearing are cherries and pears.  Unlike grapes and apples these fruits are traditionally joyful symbols of heavenly bliss and of the love of God for humankind.   

Quentin Massys, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Flemish, 1509-1513
Worcester (MA), Worcester Art Museum

Federico Barocci, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Italian, 1570
Vatican, Pinacoteca

























Francesco Albani, Rest on Flight into Egypt
Italain, c.1630-1637
Fontainebleau, Musee national du chateau de Fontainebleau

Claude Lorrain, Landscape with the Rest on Flight into Egypt (Noon)
French, 1661
St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum

Adriaen van der Werff, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Dutch, 1714
Amsterdam, Amstelkring Museum
Francesco Mancini, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Italian, c.1730
Vatican, Pinacoteca


























Jacques Stella, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
French, c.1640
Glasgow, Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow
Combinations of several types of fruit became increasingly frequent in paintings of the subject.

Hans Baldung Grien, Rest on Flight into Egypt
German, c.1514
Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum
An apple and a basket of cherries lie on the ground at 
Mary's feet.
Master of the Female Half-Lengths, Rest on the Flight
into Egypt
Flemish, c.1540
London, National Gallery
Saint Joseph holds a bowl of mixed fruit, which includes
cherries, a pear, grapes and two round fruits that may be
apples or pomegranates.





























Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Flemish, c.1540
Private Collection
Not only does St. Joseph offer a bowl of fruit which
contains grapes, pears and cherries but Mary is seated
in front of a ledge on which are a book, a knife, four 
cherries, a pear, a round fruit that may be an apple or 
possibly a quince and what looks like an apple slice 
and half an orange.

Sisto Badalocchio, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Italian, c.1610
Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum
Here Mary and Joseph lean on a square cut block of
stone.  Between them is a basket filled with grapes, pears
dates and apples.




























Jan Brueghel the Younger, Rest on Flight into Egypt
Flemish, after 1526
Vienna_Kunsthistorisches Museum
In this painting Mary sits at the base of an apple tree with Jesus on her lap.  He holds a grape in his hand.  At her feet are a
basket of flowers and several pieces of fruit.  The fruit includes grapes, cherries, a quince, an apple and a pomegranate cut in half.  The basket of flowers includes roses, irises, columbine and lily of the valley.  Many of the same flowers lie on the ground at her feet or are growing nearby.  The plants surrounding her include carnations, strawberries and artichokes in addition to some of the same flowers contained in the basket.  All the references are to purity and to the suffering which the Christ Child and his mother will have to endure.
Filippo Lauri, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Italian, 1651
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum
In this charming picture the Holy Family is just preparing to stop.  St. Joseph is putting down a sack which may be their 
possessions.  Meanwhile, baby angels bring palm branches to the Christ Child, while more mature angels gather grapes and
prepare a basket of apples.  Additional baby angels strew the ground with roses.  


Charles Francois Poerson, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
French, 1656-1660
Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum
Here the Holy Family are seen resting amid the ruins of a classical structure (a reference to the pagan world that was swept away by the coming of Christ).  The posture of the sleeping Child and the white cloth held by Mary are reminders of the Pieta and the entombment which will cause her great pain in the future.  At the right baby angels have led the donkey to water, while at the left adult angels kneel as they offer a bowl of fruit which includes grapes, pomegranates and what may be plums.  Behind them another mature angel holds a second basket of  the same fruits and above another baby angel flies in with an additional basket of grapes and apples.  

Sometimes, it is flowers that take the place of fruits in being presented to the Christ Child.

Charles Poerson, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
French, c.1640
Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art
The angel offers Jesus a basket of flowers that includes
pansies, daisies, columbines and carnations. 
Ciro Ferri, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Italian, c.1659-1665
Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery
The angel offers a basket of flowers which includes
columbine, lily, roses and daisies.























Adriaen van der Werff, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Dutch, 1706
London, National Gallery
In a pose reminiscent of the future Pieta, Mary holds the sleeping Christ Child.  In His hand He holds a small bouquet of flowers which include a rose, lily of the valley, carnation and columbine.

Saint Joseph as Provider
Saint Joseph’s role as provider for and protector of Jesus and Mary is frequently depicted in the scenes of the Rest on the Flight.  He can be seen in the background of many of the earlier works of art, gathering fruit from the trees or bringing containers of water from a stream or well.

Hans Memling, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
German, c1.470
Paris, Musee du Louvre
Master of the Ango Hours
Rest on the Flight
from the Ango Hours
French (Rouen), c.1515
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Nouvelle acquisition latine 392, fol. 70


Joachim Patinir, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Flemish, c.1518-1520
Madrid, Museo del Prado









































Master of the Female Half-Lengths, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Flemish, c.1550
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum




















Cavaliere d'Arpino (Giuseppe Cesari), Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Italian, 1590-1600
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts




































The Holy Family Accompanied by Members of Their Extended Family

One strain of images brings members of the extended Holy Family into the scene of the Rest.  The family member most frequently included is Saint John the Baptist.  He may be alone or he may be accompanied by one or both of his parents, Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah.  Also present may be Mary’s mother, Saint Anne.  One may wonder how so many people came to be included in the urgent Flight, but on this even the Pseudo-Matthew is silent.  The baby Saint John may offer his cousin various objects, prominent among them a small cross, a reminder of the coming Passion.  Saint John may also assume a pose of adoration before his little cousin.  The baby Jesus may bless His cousin.  Or the two babies may simple play together.

Francesco Granacci, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
with the Infant St. John the Baptist
Italian, c.1494
Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland

Denys Calvaert, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
with the Child St. John the Baptist in a Landscape
Flemish, 1590s
Edinburgh, National Galleries of Scotland
A lot is going on here.  While the Holy Family rests and Jesus
gives a blessing to his cousin, angels are collecting fruit, 
flowers and water to assist them on earth.  Meanwhile, in the
heavens other angels hold the instruments of the Passion.  






























Adam Elsheimer, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
with the Infant St. John the Baptist
German, c.1599
Berlin, Staatliche Museen
A lot is happening in this picture too.  While the
Christ Child embraces His cousin, John, who is 
accompanied by the lamb which is his symbol, a
chain of small angels spirals down from heaven and 
a mature angel sprinkles flowers.  The archangel
Gabriel, wearing his traditional dalmatic, sits by
Mary's side and watches the two holy infants.

Giovanni Battista Paggi, Rest on the Flight into Egypt
with the Child St. John the Baptist
Italian, c.1600
Edinburgh, National Galleries of Scotland
Here it is St. Joseph who assumes the most important adult role.
Mary is seen in the background washing a cloth in a pool of
water.  The Baby Jesus and the Child St. John (who is
already wearing his goatskin garment) exchange a branch to
which two pears are attached.  Pears are symbols of the love of
Christ for mankind.































Domenichino, Rest on the Flight into Egypt with the Infant St. John the Baptist and St. Elizabeth
Italian, c.1605
Riom, Musee Francisque-Mandet
Here the two babies exchange a round object, which may be an apple, while Mary holds a small bowl to collect water from
a spring.  Behind her St. Joseph tends to the donkey.  At the far left, an older woman with a halo approaches the group.  It is most likely that she is St. Elizabeth, Mary's older cousin and mother of St. John the Baptist.
Nicolas Poussin, Rest on the Flight into Egypt with the Infant St. John the Baptist
French, c.1627
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art
This charming early Poussin shows the child St. John the Baptist reaching out to his squirmy baby
Cousin Mary watches the antics of the baby angels who are collecting fruit and flowers, offering laden
baskets and playing with St. John's lamb.  St. Joseph reads quietly in the background.










































Nicolas Poussin, The Holy Family on the Steps
French, 1648
Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art
This more mature work of Poussin has a gravity not seen in the earlier one.  The playful baby angels are gone, although the basket and vessels of fruits remain.  The interplay between the baby St. John and the baby Jesus is much more solemn.  John offers an apple to Jesus, the symbol of the sin of Adam from which He came to redeem mankind.  St. Elizabeth leans forward to protect and "back up" her boy.  Mary's gesture recalls the Hodegetria pose of earlier centuries.  St. Joseph, however, still remain reading.  Though nearer he is still in the background.

Francois Boucher, Rest on Flight into Egypt with
the Infant St. John the Baptist
French, 1757
St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum
In this Boucher work, the Infant St. John has prostrated 
himself in homage before his baby Cousin.  Jesus is seated 
on a pile of wheat ears which are surrounded by a grape 
vine, symbolic of the Eucharist.  The trussed up rooster
attached to the donkey's harness may be the family's 
dinner, but may also be a reference to the Passion of Christ.
Mary sits at the right on the ruins of a columned building, 
probably a temple.  At her side is St. John's lamb, also 
another reference to the Passion of Christ.



Francois Boucher, Madonna and Child
with the Infant St. John the Baptist and Angels
French, 1765
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art
More intimate than the Hermitage picture, this work
still includes some of the same motifs.  Here the baby
St. John the Baptist, accompanied by his lamb, joins
his hands in prayer before his Cousin.  Behind Mary is a 
basket with grapes in front of a rose bush.  Above one
baby angel clasps his hands in prayer, while another 
a rose.





























The Rest on the Flight with Saints


Occasionally one sees pictures of the Rest on the Flight in which the Holy Family is accompanied with saints who adore the Christ Child.  There is, of course, no Biblical basis for this, nor is there any such scene in the Pseudo-Matthew.  These images are, therefore, the result of pious projection.  Some may be depictions of saintly meditation and vision.  Others are the desire of a church or commissioning patron for an image that included their own patron saint or saints.  

Cima da Conegliano, The Rest on the Flight into Egypt with
Saints John the Baptist and Lucy
Italian, c.1496-1498
Lisbon, Calouste Gulbenkian Museum
Correggio, Rest on the Flight into Egypt with St. Francis
Italian, 1517
Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi

Paris Bordone, Rest on the Flight into Egypt with St. Catherine of Alexandria and Angels
Italian, 1527-1530
Private Collection

Lorenzo Lotto, Rest on the Flight into Egypt with St. Justine
Italian, 1529-1530
St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum
Peter Paul Rubens, The Rest on the Flight into Egypt with Saints George, Catherine of Alexandria and Margaret of Antioch
Flemish, 1632-1635
Madrid, Museo del Prado
These pictures belong to the tradition of the sacra conversazione, with the traditional Madonna and Child being replaced with an image specifically taken from the account of the Flight found in both Matthew’s Gospel and the apocryphal Pseudo-Matthew.  


To Be Continued......

© M. Duffy, 2017
_______________________________________________________________
  1. Pseudo-Matthew.  Translated by Alexander Walker. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. .
  2. See http://imaginemdei.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-flight-into-egypt-holy-refugees.html and http://imaginemdei.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-flight-into-egypt-variations-part-2.html
  3. Pseudo-Matthew, see above.
  4.  See E. James Mundy, “Gerard David's "Rest on the Flight into Egypt": Further Additions to Grape Symbolism”, Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, Vol. 12, No. 4 (1981 -1982), pp. 211-222 for the Eucharistic symbolism of the grape.  Mundy also suggests an additional interpretation of the use of green grapes as symbols of the Church.
  5.  For this and the significance of other fruits featured in these pictures of the Rest on the Flight see:  George Ferguson, Signs and Symbols in Christian Art, New York, Oxford University Press, 1961, which is still the standard work on this subject.

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