The Flight into Egypt, an episode of childhood of Christ in the New Testament, representing Joseph, Mary and Jesus on a donkey, fleeing from Palestine to Egypt, at the behest of the angel of the Lord in a very neat scenography .
Look carefully at the angel bearing a Huppe Fasciee, the bird with a long beak and slender tuft of red feathers.
The presence of the Huppe Fasciee, a bird symbol of wisdom, a messenger and companion of King Solomon, affirms the link and continuity between the child Jesus, King of the Jews, and King Solomon in the Old Testament.
Note that the same bird, the Huppe Fasciee, became in 2008 the bird symbol of ISRAEL.
During the reign of King Herod, Mary, gave birth to her son Jesus, conceived of the Holy Spirit, and that the Magi from the East recognized as "King of the Jews." After their departure, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him: "Get up, take with you the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and remains there because Herod will seek the child to do perish. Joseph got up, took with him the child and his mother, and retired in Egypt until Herod's death.
King Herod realized that he was cheated and feared for its power. He then ordered to kill all children of Bethleem and the surrounding area. Joseph and his family then stayed in Egypt until the angel called them again after the death of Herod: "Get up, take with you the child and his mother, and put you head to the land of 'Israel'. Joseph got up, took with him the child and his mother, and he entered the land of Israel.
Here the return of the Holy Family after the exodus in Egypt is symbolized by the presence of the angel bearing the Fascie Huppe.
Note the intensity of the three primary colors, attracting the eye on the protagonists. The blue from lapis lazuli, is the color of the sky, and characterizing the Virgin Mary’s mantle since the 12th century.
Oil on canvas, ITALIAN school of the seventeenth century.
Within a giltwood frame.
