Abraham Casting Out Hagar and Ishmael
Original title: Abraham Casting Out Hagar and Ishmael
kurzbeschreibung
Rembrandt's 1637 etching brings before the viewer the biblical account in which Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away. The upright plate measures 12.7 x 9.8 cm and was executed as an etched print.
Description
Abraham occupies the foreground, dressed in a richly patterned robe trimmed with fur and wearing a turban-like head covering; his gaze reads as steady and contemplative. Toward the middle stand Hagar and Ishmael, the son plainly clothed, the mother in customary dress. Architecture of columns and arched openings rises in the rear, overgrown with plants. A dog approaches from the left, while at the back right another man appears in traditional clothing. Black and white governs the image, whose drawing is rich in gradations.
Context
The etching falls in 1637, a year when Rembrandt pursued biblical subjects and printmaking with particular energy. It belongs among a series of etchings from the 1630s valued for their forceful contrast of light and dark. The expulsion of Hagar was among the favourite themes in the seventeenth-century Netherlands and was often read as an example of divine guidance and human tension.
Impact
A quiet yet faintly strained mood lies over the sheet and holds fast the moment of parting. Graded shadows and precisely placed lines give the view something intimate and narrative that draws the viewer into the biblical episode.
Technique
The plate was bitten with acid, which allowed delicate lines and tonal values to emerge. Rembrandt combined different etching and printing methods to gain a dense texture and nuanced shadows characteristic of his prints.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)