Leaf from a Book of Hours: Vespers (The Flight into Egypt)

Fearing that the newly born Christ would pose a threat to his reign, King Herod the Great initiated a desperate attempt to destroy the infant. Forewarned of Herod’s plan, Mary, Joseph, and the young Jesus fled the city of Bethlehem, an event recounted in the Gospel of Matthew. This miniature depicts a moment in the Holy Family’s journey, as Joseph leads Mary and Jesus, both seated on a donkey, through a vibrantly-colored landscape. In books of hours, images of the Holy Family’s Flight into Egypt traditionally introduced the evening office of Vespers.