REPOSE IN EGYPT - from Contemplations on the Ways of the Lord (Bp Ogles)
“And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a
dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be
thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”
(Matthew 2:13)
The classical artist has great potential to reveal truth and beauty to a world that has lost its
taste for truth and beauty. There is overpowering emotion that can be evoked by the artful
brush strokes on canvas. Da Vinci’s Last Supper is an example of that power. So is the
painting by Merson entitled, “Repose in Egypt.”
There is a relatively recent but famous French painting called “The Repose in Egypt” The artist who painted this remarkably meaningful and mystical work was Luc Oliver Merson. In the painting, the Sphinx is pictured with upturned face which gives the impression of questioning the great mysteries of life and its future. The Sphinx is positioned on the very edge of the Egyptian desert. This symbolizes the world as a great desert whose mortality is assured without God.
Darkness broods over the scene, with only the far-off stars of tradition and philosophy
shedding their dim light upon the dark desert wilderness. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is
reclining on the arms of the Sphinx and holds in her arms the Child Jesus. Joseph and his
donkey are lying in the opening before the Sphinx which is an oasis. Life in Christ is truly
an oasis in a world of despondency and terror. The sand of wind erosion even graces the
base of the pillar upon which the virgin reclines.
The light before the Sphinx emanates from the face of the Christ Child. It makes bright the oasis and the nearer sands. Only those rays of light from Christ penetrate the limitless
darkness of the wilderness. Christ is, indeed, the Light of the World. “Then spake Jesus
again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in
darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
The Sphinx looks forward to future promise, and light from Christ also brightens the face
of the Sphinx, but to the rear of the Sphinx is only dark desert and barren wastes. This
represents the world before Christ’s coming. This is illustrative of the darkness in which
men sat before the Beauty of the Light of Christ illumined their dark hearts. “The people
that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow
of death, upon them hath the light shined.” (Isaiah 9:2)
Open your eyes, and the eyes of your heart, and behold the Light!
(Information gleaned from Peloubet’s Illustrations from the Gospel of St. Matthew for
insight on this painting)
