Ruhe auf der Flucht,

um 1799/1800

Material / Technology / Carrier

Öl auf Leinwand, auf Pressspanplatte geklebt

Dimensions of the object

24,2 x 33,5 cm

Displayed

Not on display

Department

19. Jahrhundert

Genre

Malerei

Inventory number

15437

Acquisition

1995 aus Privatbesitz erworben (war L 2333)

Stock

Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Neue Pinakothek München

Citation

Philipp Otto Runge, Ruhe auf der Flucht, um 1799/1800, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Neue Pinakothek München, URL: https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/anxgP3dLEq (Last updated on 22.01.2024)

This small study shows the Holy Family resting under palm trees while on the flight to Egypt. Maria is resting on a bundle and is offering her child a small bowl, which Jesus is reaching for with both hands. Joseph, who is sitting near them, is holding the water ready and is avidly watching the child. This absorption with the act of drinking invests this simplicity with a strikingly symbolic character. The study belongs to the group of Runge's earliest oil works and the composition is still conventionally classical. Around six years later Runge again depicted the same scene in an oil painting that hangs in the Kunsthalle in Hamburg: A work, however, that is bolder in composition and more differentiated in its use of color, thereby surpassing a purely naturalistic rendition.