The biblical story of the painting “The Flight of Mary, Joseph and the Infant Jesus” is better known in the visual arts under the well-established title “Rest on the Flight into Egypt.”
In canonical texts, mention of this event is found only in the Gospel of Matthew, and is described very briefly. More explicit descriptions are contained in numerous apocrypha, namely, in non-canonical religious literature. Hence the variety of artistic interpretation of this plot in the visual arts. Only the main characters remain unchanged: Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus. Most of the paintings also feature a donkey - either Joseph leads him while Mary and Jesus are riding, or he stands at a distance, like in a painting from the collection of the Zaraysk Museum. Sometimes the plot also features the three sons of Joseph and the midwife Salome or angels.
According to the Gospel of Matthew, the Holy Family was forced to flee from the persecution of King Herod. The Magi, who wanted to protect the Savior, did not give the king his whereabouts, and Herod ordered to massacre all babies under two years old. Then an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, commanding: “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him” (Matt. 2:13). So, the family set off on a long journey, and they returned only after the death of Herod. But upon their return they settled not in Bethlehem, but in Nazareth.
The Apocrypha provide this story with various details about the miracles that happened to the pilgrims on their journey. For example, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew tells that the Infant ordered the palm tree to bend to the ground to let the Mother of God taste the fruits hanging on it. The tree bowed in obedience to the orders of Jesus. And when it returned to its place again, springs with drinking water began to beat from its roots, which allowed the travelers to quench their thirst to their fullest.
These apocrypha also tell about the plot, the trace of which we can see in the painting “The Flight of Mary with Joseph and the Infant Jesus” from the collection of the Zaraysk Kremlin. Once in Hermopolis, in a place called Satina, Jesus and his parents approached a large pagan temple. There were as many statues in it as there were days in a year.
As soon as the Most Holy Mother of God with the infant Christ in her arms crossed the sidestep of the sanctuary, all the statues fell to the ground and shattered. This symbolized the arrival of a new faith with the Savior, while the old temples with their gods had to fall.
In canonical texts, mention of this event is found only in the Gospel of Matthew, and is described very briefly. More explicit descriptions are contained in numerous apocrypha, namely, in non-canonical religious literature. Hence the variety of artistic interpretation of this plot in the visual arts. Only the main characters remain unchanged: Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus. Most of the paintings also feature a donkey - either Joseph leads him while Mary and Jesus are riding, or he stands at a distance, like in a painting from the collection of the Zaraysk Museum. Sometimes the plot also features the three sons of Joseph and the midwife Salome or angels.
According to the Gospel of Matthew, the Holy Family was forced to flee from the persecution of King Herod. The Magi, who wanted to protect the Savior, did not give the king his whereabouts, and Herod ordered to massacre all babies under two years old. Then an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, commanding: “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him” (Matt. 2:13). So, the family set off on a long journey, and they returned only after the death of Herod. But upon their return they settled not in Bethlehem, but in Nazareth.
The Apocrypha provide this story with various details about the miracles that happened to the pilgrims on their journey. For example, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew tells that the Infant ordered the palm tree to bend to the ground to let the Mother of God taste the fruits hanging on it. The tree bowed in obedience to the orders of Jesus. And when it returned to its place again, springs with drinking water began to beat from its roots, which allowed the travelers to quench their thirst to their fullest.
These apocrypha also tell about the plot, the trace of which we can see in the painting “The Flight of Mary with Joseph and the Infant Jesus” from the collection of the Zaraysk Kremlin. Once in Hermopolis, in a place called Satina, Jesus and his parents approached a large pagan temple. There were as many statues in it as there were days in a year.
As soon as the Most Holy Mother of God with the infant Christ in her arms crossed the sidestep of the sanctuary, all the statues fell to the ground and shattered. This symbolized the arrival of a new faith with the Savior, while the old temples with their gods had to fall.
