Hagar in the Desert
1551 to 1600
Medium
etching on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 10.5 x 16 cm (4 1/8 x 6 5/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
1983.38.1
Art Historical Context
In the intimate etching *Hagar in the Desert created by Dutch engraver Moyses vanyttenbroeck between1551 and 1600, we encounter a poignant biblical scene from Genesis. Hagar, the Egyptian servant cast out into the wilderness with her son Ishmael by Abraham Sarah, embodies themes of exile, divine providence, and maternal despair. Van Uyttenbroeck, in the vibrant printmaking scene of the Northern Netherlands during the late Renaissance, captures this moment with delicate precision, likely drawing from earlier compositions by artists like Jan Gossart or Maarten van Heemskerck. Etching on laid pa...