Artwork
Abraham Dismissing Hagar
Abraham Dismissing Hagar is an ink print by the Baroque artist Joseph Wagner. It dates from 1745 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Abraham Dismissing Hagar is a mid‑18th‑century print executed by the German‑Italian engraver Joseph Wagner. Produced around 1745, the work combines etching and engraving on laid paper, resulting in a finely detailed image that measures roughly the size of a small portrait sheet. The composition is framed by ornamental borders and a leafy backdrop, giving the scene a contained, theatrical quality.
Subject & Meaning
The gestures and downward glances convey a sense of reluctant dismissal and emotional tension, echoing the narrative’s themes of exile and maternal loss.
The print depicts a biblical episode in which Abraham orders the expulsion of Hagar and her son Ishmael. An elderly figure, clothed in a robe and turban, gestures outward toward a woman and child positioned on lower steps, while another woman leans against crumbling masonry holding an infant. The gestures and downward glances convey a sense of reluctant dismissal and emotional tension, echoing the narrative’s themes of exile and maternal loss.
Technique & Style
Wagner employed a hybrid process, first drawing the design in acid‑resistant ground and then incising lines with a needle for the etching, followed by hand‑engraved hatching to deepen shadows. The use of laid paper, with its visible ribbed texture, enhances the tonal variation. The composition balances linear precision with the softer, atmospheric qualities typical of mid‑Baroque printmaking, especially in the rendering of foliage and architectural ruin.
History & Provenance
Created circa 1745, the print likely circulated among collectors interested in biblical subjects and the growing market for affordable reproductions of narrative scenes. While specific ownership records are sparse, Wagner’s prints were widely distributed across Europe, suggesting that this work may have been part of a series sold through his workshop in Venice and later acquired by private collectors.
Context
The image reflects the 18th‑century fascination with Old Testament stories as moral exempla, a trend reinforced by the Enlightenment’s emphasis on didactic art. Wagner, active in Venice, often blended Italianate composition with Germanic attention to detail, positioning this print within a broader cross‑cultural exchange of artistic ideas and print technologies.
Artist & collection
La Bonne Aventure
Christ and the Woman of Samaria Among Ruins
The Episode of the Falling Idol
La fiancee du roi de Garbe: L'arbre
Two Fleeing Figures (Atlanta and Hippomenes?)
Two Fleeing Figures
The Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalen
The Episode of the Falling Idol
Joseph and His Brothers