The Flight into Egypt

Follower of Joachim Patinir

National Gallery of Art

This painting depicts a rocky pass with a man, woman, and child moving up a hill towards us. In the background is a rugged rock formation rising towards the top left, leading down to a horizon with green fields and distant blue hills. In the center of the painting, a woman in a red gown and blue cloak holds a child wrapped in a white cloth. The woman rides a donkey, and a man walking left next to her on the left holds the reins. The man wears a gray garment under an orange cloak, and he walks with a crutch in one hand. Both the man and woman have halos around their heads. The hill they are on is covered in lush green grass, and green trees fill the areas between the rock formations. Far away, small white buildings are visible below. The sky above the scene is white along the horizon but blue at the top of the painting, with a few faint clouds drifting by.