The Flight Into Egypt

The Flight into Egypt, episode from the childhood of Christ in the New Testament, representing Joseph, Mary and Jesus on the donkey, fleeing Palestine for Egypt, by order of the Angel of the Lord, in a scenography very neat.
Let's observe the angel carrying a Hoopoe, the bird with the long slender beak and tuft of red feathers.
The presence of the hoopoe, bird symbol of wisdom, companion and messenger of King Solomon, affirms the link and continuity between the child Jesus, King of the Jews and King Solomon of the Old Testament.
Note that this same bird, the hoopoe, became in 2008 the bird symbol of ISRAEL.
During the reign of King Herod, Mary gave birth to her son Jesus, conceived by the holy spirit, and whom the Magi of the East recognized as "the king of the Jews". After their departure, the Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said to him: "Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and flee to Egypt; stay there because Herod is going to fetch the child to do so. perish". Joseph arose, took with him the child and his mother, and retired to Egypt until the death of Herod.
King Herod realized he had been deceived and fearing for his power, ordered all the children in and around Betel to be killed. Joseph and his family then remained in Egypt, until the angel ordered him, after the death of Herod: "Arise, take with you the child and his mother, and set out for the land of 'Israel". Joseph arose, took the child and his mother with him, and entered the land of Israel. Here the return of the holy family after the exodus to Egypt is symbolized by the presence of the angel carrying the Fasciated Hoopoe, symbol of Israel.
Here, the intensity of the three primary colors, drawing the viewer's eye to the protagonists. Blue, coming from lapis lazuli, is the color evoking the sky, and characterizing the coat of the Virgin Mary in painting, since the 12th century.
Oil on canvas, Italian School of the 17th century.
In a gilded wooden frame.