%2B-%2BLandscape%2Bwith%2Bthe%2Brest%2Bon%2Bthe%2BFlight%2Binto%2BEgypt%2B(Noon).jpg "Landscape with the rest on the Flight into Egypt by Claude Gellee - Christianity, Religious, Landscape Paintings from Hermitage Museum")
Painting Detail
Landscape with the rest on the Flight into EgyptArtist: Claude Gellee
Medium: Painting, Oil on canvas, 116x159.6 cm
Date: 1661
Genre: Christianity, Religious, Landscape
Source: Collection of Empress Josephine, Malmaison, 1815
"Landscape with the Rest on the Flight into Egypt" has traditionally been placed within the series of the "Four Times of the Day". It was painted for one of Lorrain's permanent clients, Henrich van Halmale, the dean of the Antwerp cathedral.
It is well known that Lorrain was interested in the barely detectable, finest changes in the natural milieu. In this work he has depicted an ordinary summer day, but there is a harmony with his mood. The wide valley which opens up beyond the bend in the river is illuminated by an undefined diffuse light, while on the plain there are shadows cast in places by clouds. The trees and vegetation are immobile. The water in the river is tranquil. It appears that nature, like the tired travellers, has stopped moving and is in a state of rest.