Rest on the Flight to Egypt, Gerard David

Description of the picture:

Rest on the way to Egypt – Gerard David. 1512-1515. Board, oil. 50.8×43.2   Gerard David – the last of the prominent painters of the XV century. Who worked in Bruges. Almost all of his works differing in narrow analysis – religious content. Although the painter does not forget the samples of his own famous predecessors, he is peculiar, but, the rejection of insignificant details and graphic excesses.    The main scene of the picture, of which there are very few, is completely centered on the figure of the Madonna who feeds Jesus, who is obsessed with exceptional naturalness in the landscape. In the background is the usual scene of the flight of the Holy Family. A painter who does not show love for details is inclined to show the essence of unsullied forms, devoid of any stylistic dependence, which gives the composition as a whole a spirit of calm and concentration: the work is converted into an object of worship, created for religious contemplation. A similar magical atmosphere appears thanks to the coloristic politra, a game of greenish and blue tones, which inform the painting of festive dignity. The background landscape, extending to the horizon, is solved in subtle tints of blue and greenish and, perhaps, anticipates the landscape painting of Patinir."