A hand-coloured woodcut from the early sixteenth century depicting the Flight into Egypt, attributed to the Dutch printer Doen Pietersz.

This hand-coloured woodcut depicts the biblical narrative of the Flight into Egypt. The composition shows the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus, seated upon a donkey, while Joseph leads the animal forward. The scene is set against a stylised rocky backdrop, typical of early sixteenth-century Dutch printmaking. The artist, Doen Pietersz., was a publisher and printer active in Amsterdam during the early decades of the sixteenth century. His work often appeared in devotional books, where woodcuts provided visual aids for prayer and meditation.

The print exhibits the characteristic bold, graphic lines of the woodcut medium. The application of colour, likely added by hand shortly after the impression was pulled, enhances the legibility of the figures. Mary is draped in a traditional blue mantle, while Joseph is depicted in a warm, earthy red garment. The halo surrounding the Virgin is rendered with radiating lines, a common convention in Northern Renaissance art to denote sanctity. The inclusion of the donkey serves to ground the narrative in the physical journey, contrasting with the spiritual weight of the figures.

This piece reflects the production methods of the period, where small-scale prints were integrated into bound volumes. The visible texture of the paper and the slight irregularities in the hand-colouring provide evidence of its historical context as a functional, mass-produced object for a literate, religious audience. The work remains a clear example of the visual culture of the Low Countries during the Reformation era, where such imagery was widely circulated to support personal piety. The print is notable for its economy of form and directness, prioritising narrative clarity over atmospheric perspective.