The Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael
by BLOEMAERT, Abraham, Oil on canvas, 150 x 184 cm
The biblical story (Genesis, chapter 21) depicted in the paintings is the following. Hagar, the Egyptian hand maiden of Sarah was the mother of Ishmael, Abraham’s first son. When Isaac, Sarah’s son, was born Ishmael mocked his younger brother so that Sarah asked Abraham to banish him, together with his mother. Abraham provided them with bread and a bottle of water and sent them off into the desert of Beersheba.
The biblical aspect in the painting is not the central focus of the painting, typically of Bloemaert’s mature work. The viewer’s first impression is that this is a genre scene of a contemporary farmyard.