Ruhe auf der Flucht
Philipp Otto Runge (1777-1810)

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.

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