Oil on canvas 64.5 cm x 52.2 cm signed and dated lower right: TVH/ 1613 painted and gilded wooden frame. Provenance: Galleria Frascione, Florence; Private collection, Florence Pananti Gallery, Florence, 10.22.2011 Modern Art Auction House, Milan, 2.10.2012 Pananti Gallery, Florence, 7.12.2012 This is an extraordinary depiction of the rest on the flight to Egypt. Instead of a centrally enthroned Madonna who is serenaded by angels in a pretty garden, this painting shows the harsh reality of the scene: The holy family is positioned uncomfortably in the bottom right corner of the composition (a typical feature of Verhaecht who often uses the figures of Biblical or classical scenes as a mere excuse for a dramatic landscape). They are sitting in the road by a bend - it is clear that they and their basket will be in the way of the travellers who are approaching in the background. There is also no sign of the usual donkey; they are evidently fleeing on foot. St. Joseph, placed in the shadow behind the Madonna, is gesturing in an agitated way, presumably hurrying his wife along. The uncomfortable scene is enhanced by the inhospitable landscape with bare, sharp rocks and spindly trees (further typical elements in Verhaecht's works). In this mature work, Rubens' teacher exaggerates the features of his personal style - without the mitigation of a leafy expansive landscape in the background or comforting angels - and creates a daring, almost grotesque mannerist composition of great expressivity.