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Voices Online Edition
Vol. XXVIII, No. 4
Christmastide 2013-2014
Holy Family Rest on the Flight into Egypt
by Gerard David
The biblical account of the holy family’s flight into Egypt is found in Matthew 2:13-23, which begins with the angel appearing to Joseph in a dream, saying “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.” Legends grew about this journey — and one included a pause on the journey after three days, during which the Virgin longed for fruit of the date tree, but the branches were too high for Joseph to reach, so the Christ Child made the tree bow low so Joseph could pick the fruit. (The “Cherry Tree Carol” is a version of this legend.) In Gerard David’s painting, the tree is actually a Flemish chestnut tree; but people would have recognized the story.
The artist creates an atmosphere of peace and calm through the use of colors — predominately blues, and the composition centered on the Virgin and Child seated on a rock, with Joseph and his stick at the upper right, and the distant bluish landscape. The grapes in the very center of the composition, held both by Mary and the infant Jesus, symbolize the Eucharist.
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