Hagar's Departure, from Six Landscape Subjects from the Old Testament

Anthonie Waterloo (Dutch, c. 1610-1690)

1650/60

Medium
Etching on paper
Classification
Print
Dimensions
29.2 × 24.6 cm (11 1/2 × 9 11/16 in.)
Culture
Holland
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago, Prints and Drawings
Credit line
Anonymous gift
Rights
Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed

View at the Art Institute of Chicago

About this work

Similar to Antoni Waterlo’s Elias in the Wilderness from the same series, this etching displays the artist’s excellent handling of landscapes. The trees not only enclose the composition, but also help guide the viewer to the biblical scene tucked inside them. Hagar and her son, Ishmael, are cast out into the wilderness by Ishmael’s own father, Abraham. Shown extending his arm, Abraham sends the mother and child to their fate with nothing but some bread and water.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0