The Holy Family are fleeing into Egypt, escaping King Herod’s massacre of male babies in Bethlehem. The souls of those killed - the ‘Holy Innocents’ - accompany them, led by ‘mystic bubbles’ representing Jewish belief in salvation. The large bubble includes images of Jacob's Dream, the Adoration of the Lamb and the Tree of Life. Hunt was inspired by time spent in Palestine, demonstrated in the figures, the donkey and the background. His originality and re-interpreted the Bible for late Victorian England. Hunt designed the picture's frame.
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