Rest on the flight to Egypt

The Rest on the Flight into Egypt is a subject in Christian art showing Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus resting during their flight into Egypt. The Holy Family is normally shown in a landscape.  The subject did not develop until the second half of the fourteenth century, though it was an "obvious step" from depictions of the "legend of the palm tree" where they pause to eat dates and rest; palm trees are often included. It was a further elaboration of the long-standing traditions of incidents that embellished the story of the Flight into Egypt, which the New Testament merely says happened, without giving any details.

The single New Testament account, in Matthew 2:14, merely says (of Joseph): "When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt". This account was embellished in various early New Testament apocrypha, which added various legendary incidents. Late medieval accounts continued to add detail,

This is an oil on canvas painting executed c.1665 by the Spanish artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo which is now in the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia. It depicts the Holy Family, attended by two Cupids, resting during a flight to safety. The theme was a popular one which was painted by several artists.