Herri met de Bles (c. 1510 - after 1551), Landscape with the Flight into Egypt
A tree in the middle of the painting divides the vast mountain landscape into two halves: the good and holy on one side and the evil and dissolute on the other.
The drawing's motif
On a small path in the foreground to the left Joseph is seen following Mary riding on a donkey holding the Infant Jesus in her arms. Their piety and spiritual demeanour causes a gilt statue of a heathen god to tumble to the ground as they pass it by.
In the middle ground to the right a merry company comes riding in a cart. Their doings denounce them as the advocates of the Seven Deadly Sins. For example, the company is led by a man playing the bagpipes – a symbol of infidelity.
Herri met de Bles and Herry de Patenier
Herri met de Bles is believed to be the same person as a Herry de Patenier who was received as a master of the St. Luke’s Guild in Antwerp in 1535. He may have been related to his great idol Joachim Patenier (ca. 1480-1524), who can be credited with establishing a canon for the so-called ”Weltlandschaft” in which the eye is led through a wide panoramic landscape ranging from warm brown colours in the foreground to cool greens and distant blues.