The flight to Egypt Softwood 1497

Albrecht Durer created this image of "The Flight into Egypt" in softwood, sometime in the late 15th or early 16th century. This print shows the holy family escaping to Egypt, as told in the Gospel of Matthew, to evade Herod's infanticide. As a work made in Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, this image creates meaning by tapping into well-worn visual codes of the period, recognisable to a Christian audience. The halo, and the careful depiction of the Virgin, signal the special status of the subjects. However, it is important to also consider this as a work of the Northern Renaissance, one that comments on the social structures of its time. The image has an eye for realistic detail, rooted in direct observation of the world, which reflects new developments in art and science, and perhaps even critiques the institutions of the church. As historians, our understanding of this print benefits from research into the conditions of its production, the artist's biography, and the context of its reception. The meaning of art is always contingent on social context.