Rest on the Flight into Egypt (Caravaggio)

The Rest on the Flight into Egypt is a painting by Caravaggio, which is now preserved in the Galleria Doria Pamphili in Rome. It is considered one of the masterpieces of Caravaggio's early creative period

The large-scale paintings ( 135.5 × 166.5 cm) is undated, take a formation to 1594. The client is not known, but is suspected within the Oratory of St. Philip Neri.

Description

The image is dominated by a musical angel in back view, the image is divided into two parts with its wings: right Maria with the child, left in the background a donkey in front of the angels and Joseph, who holds a sheet of music. The music piece shown could be identified, it is a motet of the Flemish composer Noel Bauldewijn (about 1480-1529/30 ) on a text of the Song of Songs: Quam pulchra et quam decora it, carissima in deliciis! Statura tua est assimilata palmae, et Ubera tua botris. (Song of Songs 7,7,8 EU).

The landscape representation in the right background is atypical of Caravaggio, only in his sacrifice of Isaac, the landscape is represented similarly prominent. With the detailed representation of the demijohn left front the image also contains elements of a still life.

Interpretation

Like many great works of art also allows for different interpretations of this. About the importance of various elements - eg via the motet Quam pulchra es or about the broken string of the violin of the Angel - a variety of speculations have been made.

Despite the biblical subjects is also a homoerotic interpretation can not be excluded: This is supported by the lascivious acts pose of the angel and the fact that the white cloth indeed wrapped his naked body before the eyes of the beholder, but not before the eyes of Joseph.