The Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1626
etching, h 212mm × w 164mm More details
The Holy Family is here resting on their flight into Egypt. The Virgin feeds the baby while Joseph holds up the little bowl from which she spoons the food. This is Rembrandt’s second etching, and he grapples with volume and depth. While he separates light from dark (with a tangle of lines), once in shadow the figures are difficult to distinguish from the background.
