_Crespi, Plate 24,_ has pictured Joseph's dream. An angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise and take the young child
and his mother, and flee into Egypt, for Herod will seek the young
child to destroy him. (Matt. 2:13.)
[Illustration: Joseph's Dream.]
Plate 24. _Joseph's Dream._ Daniele Crespi.
_Fuerst, Plate 26,_ illustrates the words "And he arose and took the
young child and his mother, and departed." (Matt. 2:14.)
[Illustration: Flight into Egypt.]
Plate 26. _Flight into Egypt._ M. Fuerst.
_Plockhoerst, Plate 27,_ shows the holy family passing through
southern Judea, accompanied by cherubs, but unconscious of their
presence.
[Illustration: Flight into Egypt.]
Plate 27. _Flight into Egypt._ B. Plockhoerst. 1825-
_Hofmann, Plate 25,_ shows them passing through the Wilderness of
Shur, Joseph with his broad axe for protection, unconscious of the
guardian angel who accompanied them, to keep them in all their ways.
(Ps. 91:11.) "That old serpent" is already in the wilderness,
waiting! His time has not yet come.
[Illustration: Flight into Egypt.]
Plate 25. _Flight into Egypt._ H. Hofmann. 1824-
_Benz, Plate 28,_ has taken as his subject the first moment of rest
in a place "even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as
thou comest into Zoar." (Gen. 13:10.) Joseph has a typical Egyptian
water-jar upon his arm. The little child is pleased with the flowers,
after his long journey through the desert, and holds a bunch of them
in his hand. The place of rest seems to be just at the edge of the
desert,--a secluded, well-watered spot, out of Herod's reach.
[Illustration: Repose in Egypt.]
Plate 28. _Repose in Egypt._ S. Benz.
_Merson, Plate 29,_ is a poetic seer as well as an artist. The sphinx
riddle was "What is man?" Merson has placed the answer before the
sphinx at last. He who was himself the answer to the world-old
question, propounded a new question which all must answer, "What
think ye of Christ" (Matt. 22:42).
[Illustration: Repose in Egypt.]
Plate 29. _Repose in Egypt._ Olivier L. Merson.
_Morris, Plate 30,_ gives us a glimpse of the life of the Holy Family
during the sojourn in Egypt. Joseph is resting in the tent after his
day's work, and Mary is teaching the child to walk. All are
unconscious of the ominous shadow so evident now to us. The hatred
which threatened the child, would not spare the man. The exile in
Egypt is but the prophetic shadow of the coming event--crucifixion.
The child's hands extend towards the cactus and the palm, symbols of
suffering and of victory.
[Illustration: Shadow of the Cross.]
Plate 30. _Shadow of the Cross._ P. R. Morris.