Rest during the Flight into Egypt, oil on canvas, 18th-19th century

Oil painting on canvas. 18th - 19th century. The sacred theme of this scene takes on a familiar connotation, full of tenderness and very earthly intimacy: in an almost exotic context, evoking an oasis in the desert with palm trees and a water spring in an arid, hilly landscape. Naked, Joseph and Mary sit down to rest during their flight into Egypt, to escape Herod's persecution; the mother tenderly holds the child Jesus on her lap, gazing at him with affection and swaddling him, while Joseph watches them, satisfied and relaxed. The entire scene is characterised by the dominance of brown-ochre colours, with only Mary's robe differing in its traditional blue and red hues; in the background, a clear sky with the colours of a dawn just risen, featuring shades of pink. The canvas has been applied to a new frame from the mid-1900s and placed in a frame from the same period, which shows some wear.