Bas-relief of the Flight into Egypt

Our bass-relief of the Flight into Egypt, made around 1600 in southern Germany from basswood, is a typical example of popular sculpture in southern Germany at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. It is a perfect illustration of the balance between formal naivety and symbolic density.

This work depicts the famous passage of the flight into Egypt from Matthew's Gospel (2, 13-15 and 2, 19-20). In the centre, on a donkey, the Virgin holds the Christ Child tenderly against her in a maternal pose, with the protective curve of her cloak reinforcing the intimacy of the scene. Beside them, Joseph, with his pilgrim's staff and woven sack, his face serious, seems on the alert. Indeed, in the tree above him is a humanoid figure huddled on a rudimentary platform and protected by a small pointed roof that suggests withdrawal.
This figure, quite rare in depictions of the flight into Egypt, appears to be holding out a wand and making a parodic gesture of command. This attitude may be reminiscent of certain grotesque characters or ridiculous sorcerers from Germanic folklore. Partially undressed, her bottom is exposed in a deliberately vulgar posture, an echo of medieval satirical traditions. Her face is presented with a grotesque animality bordering on the bestial, thanks to her pointed ears, low forehead and open mouth.
Their role in this iconography is to serve as contracts for the sacred, in this case the Holy Family, by embodying sin or stupidity. In the context of the period, this type of character played a part in moral dramatisation, between religious satire, popular superstition and veiled social criticism. Here, it is possible to see a visual criticism of spiritual illusions or popular charlatans, which were very present in the religious culture of southern Germany around 1600.

As such, this bas-relief is a uniquely iconographic piece that combines popular visual criticism with the sacred language of late 16th-century moral education.

Dimensions unframed: 43 x 51 x 9,5 cm
Dimensions framed: 51 x 56 x 9,5 cm