The Flight into Egypt is an oil-on-copper cabinet painting by the German artist Adam Elsheimer dating from about 1609, while he was in Rome. It is thought to be the first naturalistic rendering of the night sky in Renaissance art. At Elsheimer's death in Rome in 1610, this picture was hanging in his bedroom.Like many other artists before and after him, Elsheimer has depicted the biblical Flight into Egypt, in which Joseph, Mary, and Jesus seek refuge from possible persecution by Herod. For its innovative fusing of religious and landscape elements, and its detailed juxtaposition of light and darkness, The Flight into Egypt is one of Elsheimer's most well-known and lauded works. It is also likely his last painting, for he died a year later.