Description

Between 1625 and 1631, Jan Lievens maintained close links with the young Rembrandt, possibly sharing a studio in Leiden where they worked together. As a result, their output of this date is extremely similar.

Lievens offers a peaceful depiction of this biblical episode. Mary is seated on the ground holding the Christ Child in her arms while a patient Saint Joseph stands beside them leaning on the donkey’s flank. The composition is organised through the diagonal line of the river that starts in the foreground and leads the eye into the background until it reaches a city in the centre of the composition.

Lievens uses a horizontal format appropriate to landscapes and constructs the scene through the use of ochre tones in the rocks, ground and vegetation. Only the sky and the bright crimson of Mary’s dress stand out against the uniform tonality of this scene.