Gerard DavidNetherlandish, 1460–1523The Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “The Rest on the Flight into Egypt” now? National Gallery of Art, Gallery 41A · West Building, Main Floor, Washington, D.C. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.
Closed· opens at 10:00 AM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
The Rest on the Flight into Egypt is an oil painting of around 1510 by the Flemish painter Gerard David now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It can be compared with other works on the same theme by the same painter in New York, Madrid and Antwerp and a Virgin and Child in Rotterdam.
Read on
The Flight into Egypt derives from the Gospel of Matthew (II.13-18), though it does not mention a rest, which derives from apocryphal accounts. It was a popular theme for painters in many periods. David painted it on several occasions using different compositions, possibly not as the result of commissions but simply painted to put on the open market. Many of them are near-identical but for a few small details. However, in all of them David focuses attention on the seated Virgin Mary breastfeeding the Christ Child, enthroned in front of a deep forest landscape background. In the far background there is usually a scene related to either the rest or to the journey to Egypt.
It has an entirely different composition to the Madrid, New York and Antwerp versions and shows the Virgin feeding the Christ Child with a bunch of grapes, a symbol of the Eucharist, and Joseph shaking a chestnut tree to bring down nuts. The bluish landscape is more broadly painted than in the Prado, Metropolitan and Antwerp examples.
Details
- Accession number
- 1937.1.43
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- National Gallery of Art
- Image: National Gallery of Art — Museum open access
![The Saint Anne Altarpiece: Saint Nicholas [left panel], Gerard David and Workshop, c. 1500/1520](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/8d5e54e2-78be-4d80-b526-700e9746916e/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
![The Saint Anne Altarpiece: Saint Anthony of Padua [right panel], Gerard David and Workshop, c. 1500/1520](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/5ef4c2b2-4df1-43d0-aaac-21ee5bef1fcd/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
![The Saint Anne Altarpiece: Saint Anne with the Virgin and Child [middle panel], Gerard David and Workshop, c. 1500/1520](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/072919d5-cf19-4605-8c9c-a85267f9ca96/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
![Christ among the Doctors [obverse], Bernard van Orley, c. 1513](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/d81bc3eb-69f6-4fdc-be42-e0ed3ef0dae0/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
