Ruhe auf der Fluct bei Mondschein

Hans Thoma

Translating loosely to “Rest on the Flight by Moonlight,” this drypoint was created by Hans Thoma after his 1915 watercolor and ink drawing “Rest on the Flight Into Egypt.” A Symbolist of renown in late 19th and early 20th century Germany, Thoma often revisited themes of religion and the human condition, adding or deducting elements as if wanting to improve his communication of the subject over time.

In this version “Ruhe auf der Fluct bei Mondshein,” he has added more weight to the scene. In his earlier depiction, as with many compositions of the flight of Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus into Egypt, there is shown the donkey on which they’ve ridden and the city toward which they flee. Here, Thoma has done away with these extraneous elements to focus on the emotion of the family’s flight. The concern for their child is evident in the slouch of Joseph’s shoulders and the resignation on Mary’s face. Angels, like guardians, hover around them, and herald a new and unknown beginning.