Biblical Scene
unknown (German School)
Basic information
- ID
- Ж-1470
- Author
- unknown (German School)
- Name
- Biblical Scene
- Date of creation
- 18th c.
- Technique
- oil painting
- Material
- duplicated canvas oil
- Dimensions (height x width, cm)
- 44 x 56
Additionally
- Type
- painting
- Genre
- religious genre art
- Plot
- Biblical scene
- Provenance
- the Lubomirski collection
- Exposition
- Potocki Palace
Information about author
Object description
In the painting, the author depicts the story of Hagar and Ishmael's exile into the desert. According to the Old Testament, Sarah, Abraham's lawful wife, could not conceive a child, so she gave the Egyptian servant Hagar to Abraham to bear him a son. Hagar bore him a son named Ishmael. Fourteen years later, Sarah and Abraham had their son Isaac. After his birth, Sarah persuaded Abraham to exile the concubine and her child. The angel Gabriel saved them in the desert by pointing to a spring. The warrior tribe of Saracens (sons of Sarah, because according to Jewish law, he was the son of Sarah and Abraham) originated from Ishmael. The overall colour scheme of the work is dark. The composition, resembling a theatrical stage, is framed by folds of fabric, allowing the viewer to focus on the central part, which depicts the characters. In the room, on an elevated platform covered with green fabric with golden edges, sits an older man in Eastern attire ‒ Abraham, who points to an open door. At his feet lies a headdress and a stick. On the left, facing away from the viewer, Ishmael is depicted in a white chiton, leaning on his father's knees. In the right part of the canvas, the figure of the young woman Hagar is clearly defined, portrayed in profile to the left and holding a flask in her left hand. Her gaze is directed at Abraham. An interesting element of the painting is the image of a small dog in the lower right corner.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery
