The flight to Egypt

HENDRICK GOUDT (1583-1648) (engraving);

ADAM ELSHEIMER (1578-1610) (drawing)

Utrecht, 1613.

Etching and burin on laid paper.

Good condition. Very slight central fold mark.

The “flight passage into Egypt” is one of the biblical scenes most frequently depicted at night. The Gospel of Matthew briefly explains that Joseph is warned in a dream of Herod’s slaughter of the innocents and urges them to flee. The iconography abounds in the image of a night march which, however, is not explicit in the New Testament.

However, many artists agreed on the night traffic scene that added drama to the representation of the escape. The night underlined the suddenness of the march and the feeling of helplessness in the middle of a threatening night.

The nocturnal representation also highlights the virtuosity of the artist who relies on precarious light sources to multiply the disturbing character of a somber nature. In the print by Hendrik Goudt (engraver) and Adam Elsheimer (drawing) this role is played through the contrast between a full Moon conveniently reflected in the lake, and the shepherds’ small campfire at the opposite end.

Each light source illuminates the scene in a different and complementary way: the Moon in a faint and dispersed way, outlines the shape of the trees, delimits the lake, makes the landscape possible. The bonfire, illuminating in an intense and concentrated manner, outlines the contours of the Sagrada Familia in its painful march.