The Flight into Egypt

religious

The most significant of the four scenes of the Dijon Altarpiece is that representing the Flight into Egypt. The Gospel according to St Matthew relates this episode in a few succinct words: "And Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt. " With only this brief indication from the original text, painters have always had to draw on other sources in order to add flesh to their image.

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About the Artist

Melchior Broederlam

Netherlandish painter, court painter to Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, from 1387. Documents show that he was a busy and versatile artist, but his only surviving works are two wings from an altarpiece representing The Annunciation and Visitation and The Presentation and Flight into Egypt (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon, 1394-9). They are among the first and finest examples of International Gothic, combining lavish decorative display with realistic touches that look forward to the later development of the Netherlandish School. The figure of St Joseph in The Flight into Egypt, for example, is represented as an authentic peasant.

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