GIOTTO di Bondone
(b. 1267, Vespignano, d. 1337, Firenze)

No. 20 Scenes from the Life of Christ: 4. Flight into Egypt

1304-06
Fresco, 200 x 185 cm
Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

On a narrow rocky path, the procession seems to move past the viewer. Equipped with everyday objects, everyone is in motion, looking at one another and talking to one another - only the Virgin Mary sits still and unmoving. The statuesque nature of her upright position is further reinforced by the rock behind. Although the child is as natural as can be, the central figures in the picture thus stand out from their surroundings and have a sublime effect.