Virtual Nativity - Flight to Egypt

 “After the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’“
Matthew 2.13

The Flight into Egypt began to appear in western art during the Middle Ages.  One of the earliest images comes from the Moone High Cross, in County Kildare, Ireland; it originally came from the monastery founded there in the sixth century by Saint Colmcille.

Giotto di Bondone’s painting ‘The Flight into Egypt’ depicts Mary and the Christ Child on a donkey, led by Joseph; these are the main characters in the picture. The painting also shows three young men and one woman. The young men are the children of Joseph from his first marriage and the woman is the maid, the helper to the Virgin Mary.

Giotto uses a large rock formation to direct the viewer’s attention to the Madonna and Child. Joseph is de-emphasised on the right side of the composition: he turns away in conversation with a member of the entourage while the guiding angel looks directly at Mary. Giotto portrays Mary as protector of the Christ child and, by extension, of the church.