Nicholas Mynheer (b.1958 )
Oil on canvas
20 x 50 cm
2003
Methodist Modern Art Collection
No. MYN/2004
Image Copyright © Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes. The Methodist Church Registered Charity no. 1132208
Biblical commentary
Matthew 2: 13-15
Mynheer portrays the Holy Family taking a moments rest in the shade of a tree. With the threat of Herod receding, Mary and Joseph can play with the baby Jesus. The artist writes ‘I remember being told that the Judaean Desert blooms with wild flowers for about two weeks every spring. I had the idea that as the Holy Family travelled across the desert it flowered in response to the presence of The Lord. Even the tree under which they are seen resting has come into fruit; for Nature itself responds to God, praising in its own way. In the words of The Benedicite: ‘O All ye Works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord: praise him, and magnify him forever’’.
Commentary based on A Guide to the Methodist Art Collection.