The composition of the painting develops around the diagonal from the lower left corner to the upper right one, creating two spaces: the heavenly (sacred) and the earthly (profane). In the central part you can see the Holy Family and the Angel guiding them. Each character plays an individual role; Joseph asks for the way of the Angel, he shows him the way with his hand, Maria looks back nostalgically, the donkey in the shadow goes into the uncertain future. Only little Jesus, carried in his arms, looks directly at the viewer. The diagonals of the painting converge in the place where Maria makes a gesture to protect the Child. The flight to Egypt was the first painful experience of Our Lady, heralding the Passion [2]. The figures were presented against the background of a landscape with a Roman village, which was to be a characteristic motif for classicist art. Poussin worked for many years in Rome, he knew the works of the classics. Probably the figure of an Angel was modeled on the relief of Raphael and the portico motif visible in the background was taken from an ancient mosaic [2].
