The Rest on the Flight into Egypt with Saint John the Baptist
| Support Type: | Wood Panel |
| Paint Type: | Oil Paint |
| Current Location: | J.Paul Getty Museum |
| Location History: | Possibly owned by Filippo Averardo Salviati in 1512. By 1779, the painting was in the collection of George Nassau Clavering-Cowper, 3rd Earl Cowper, and subsequently descended by inheritance through successive members of the Cowper family: Peter Leopold Louis Francis Nassau Clavering-Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper (1789–1837); George Augustus Frederick Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper (1837–1856); Francis Thomas de Grey Cowper, 7th Earl Cowper (1856–1905); Ethel Anne Priscilla Fane Grenfell, Baroness Desborough (1905–1952); and Imogen Gage, Viscountess Gage (1952–1969). Following her death, it was held by the Trustees of the Firle Estate Settlement (1969–1996) and was sold through Deborah Gage Works of Art Ltd., London, to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1996. |
This interpretation seems perfectly appropriate because if we look at Fra Bartolommeo’s “Rest on the Flight into Egypt with St John the Baptist” from around 1509 then this event of being driven away from the Holy Family’s land, their homeland becoming a country of fear of the evil King Herod is depicted as having an incredible quality of peacefulness. It’s only a resting-time. Christ with John the Baptist who offers his gift of a small reed cross; and the holy mother and holy father of the family sit closely by. And then a few distant hints of the family's journey still onward from a broken arch through to a pomegranate-fruit and a date-palm tree. These are some indications of the future sacrifice of Christ and also hints of the future as a new time after the coming of an old order that will cease. What I especially cherish is how the paintings seem to perceive that the most meaningful truths and insights into the human condition occur more readily at a time when one has paused from an eventful journey, not while one has successfully concluded one: This poor homeless family who must surely be feeling fear and concern but whose faces appear full of love. These are children giving each other the cross and they appear innocent with it; and this is, for me, a symbol for the fact that love is also able to hold up something for which it as yet does not really have an understanding and capacity. This painting for me makes us understand that it is love that helps and not because it is devoid of trouble but because it can also remain graceful when trouble comes its way; the family which finds refuge while wandering; the people are able to relax together; the ordinary road to somewhere become divine: The artist makes us perceive that the way on life can be sustained with our friends’ presence not with security; it even reminds us that the most sacrifice may at times come from our lives but what truly moves a life forward is how the caring heart is transforming an aimless wandering into a focused journey; it also leads us to understand how being at rest is in itself an act of faith.