The Holy Family

This large-scale painting shows the Holy Family resting beneath a tree on their flight to Egypt. The work captivates with its intense colors and marked contrasts of light and dark (chiaroscuro), which reveal the influence of Caravaggio. The divine light falls on Mary, the Chosen One, in the center of the composition, who devotedly looks towards it, with the Christ Child also bathed in this light. The contours of his foster father, Joseph, on the other hand, lie in the shadows. The grapes in the Child’s hand allude to the Virgin as the “Madonna of the Grapevine.” According to this interpretation, Mary is regarded as the grapevine upon which Jesus grew as a grape. At the same time, the fruit stands for wine, which signifies the sacrificial death of Jesus in the Eucharist. A further premonition of the Child’s fate may be seen in the strong wind blowing against the Holy Family on their flight. The attribution to Simon Vouet is subject to debate. The painting was most likely executed by an artist close to Vouet, who is considered the founder of Baroque painting in France, and who, upon his return from Italy, was appointed court painter to Louis XIII.