# The Flight into Egypt

The Flight into Egypt is recounted in the Gospel of Saint Matthew. Joseph flees with Mary and the infant Jesus to Egypt because King Herod is seeking them.

Joseph wears a ribbed bonnet and carries a bundle on his shoulder. He leads a mount, probably a donkey. On his back, the Virgin, sitting astride with her child, appears majestically, resembling a Virgin and Child on a throne.

The Flight into Egypt is also depicted on a historiated capital from the Saint-Lazare Cathedral of Autun, sculpted between 1125 and 1140.

Capital from the Chapter House of Autun, circa 1125-1140
Photo © Seudo pour Wikimedia, Licence CC