Abraham Bids Farewell to Hagar and Ishmael: Continuity and Variation of the Iconographic Type

Abstract

In traditional Christian artistic visualization, the episode of Hagar and Ishmael in the desert has given rise to various iconographic types: “The feast for the weaning of Isaac and Sara’s protests,” “Abraham bids farewell to Hagar and Ishmael,” “Hagar and Ishmael in the desert” and “Divine salvation for Hagar and Ishmael”. This study looks into the continuity and variation over time of the second of these types: “Abraham bids farewell to Hagar and Ishmael,” the one most depicted out of this entire biblical topic or episode. Since the Byzantine Octateuch in the East (11th century.) and the Canterbury Hexateuch (ca. 1025–1049) in the West, this iconographic type has remained into the Late Modern period, with some variations over time. This study is exclusively iconographic or descriptive; it only verifies the codification of the type in order to set out an analytical basis prior to future hermeneutic or iconological studies.

1. Introduction: Christian Exegesis

The episode of Hagar and Ishmael’s banishment1 begins with the events of the feast for the weaning of Isaac, in which Ishmael plays with his brother, and Sarah asks Abraham to cast out the maidservant with her son since she does think it fair for the son of a slave woman to share in Isaac’s inheritance. Abraham, though reticent at first, obeys God, who orders him to pay heed to his wife. The following day, he gives them bread and a waterskin to set off toward the desert of Beersheba. Hagar walks with her son through the desert and as the water runs out, she abandons the child in desperation so as not to see him die. The angel of Yahweh (which is how God manifests Himself in Genesis) opens Hagar’s eyes and shows her a spring, where she collects water and gives it to the child to drink. God helps the child, who then lives in the desert and goes on to be a great archer. His mother seeks a wife for him in the country of Egypt.

In the exegetic tradition of the fathers of the Church, Isaac is a figure of Christ and his growth means spiritual growth and joy in the hope of Christ. Sarah’s petition to Abraham was a problem for the exegetes since it seemed to be a cruel act. In general, the allegorical sense was applied, such as the opposition between virtue (Sarah) and flesh (Ishmael), whereby the virtue feels offended because the spirit (Isaac) is attracted to the flesh. This originates from Saint Paul, who furthermore understands that the alliance of Sinai (today’s Jerusalem: Judaism) is signified through Hagar, whereas it is the promise (celestial Jerusalem: Christianity) that is signified through Sarah. It is expressed thus:

“Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, the son of the free woman through promise. Now, this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. […] Now we, brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time, he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now”.2

Saint Paul’s exegesis is significant since it justifies the fact that Ishmael (the flesh) mistreats Isaac (the spirit) while “playing,” and that leads to the protest by Sarah (the virtue). This aspect is central to understanding the iconographic types3 as a whole resulting from this episode that Christian tradition has maintained, interpreted upon the basis of the aforementioned text by Saint Paul. They are the following: “The feast for the weaning of Isaac and Sarah’s protests,” “Abraham bids farewell to Hagar and Ishmael,” “Hagar and Ishmael in the desert” and “Divine salvation for Hagar and Ishmael”.

In this study, we shall be concerned only with the second of these types: “Abraham bids farewell (or dismisses) to Hagar and Ishmael,” without a doubt the one most depicted in Christian tradition due to its fundamental importance. The topic giving rise to this iconographic type appears in this verse: “So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away”.4

According to Origen of Alexandria, Abraham gives a waterskin to Hagar because Ishmael has no well since he “was born according to the flesh” (Ga 4: 29). Isaac, on the other hand, is the fruit of promise and possesses wells. The one who drinks from the waterskin ends up thirsty since the water runs out. The waterskin represents the letter of the law, from which the carnal people drink to obtain worldly knowledge. Often even that letter is missing and cannot be explained, since the historical interpretation is often deficient. The Church drinks from the springs of the Gospels and of the apostles, which never run out and flow to expand the spiritual interpretation. (Hom. in Gen. 7: 5; SC 7/bis, 206–8).

2. Continuity and Variation of the Iconographic Type

The corresponding iconographic type is made up of Abraham dismissing Hagar, who is taking her son toward the desert. The waterskin and the bread given to them by the patriarch do not always appear as such. We can see this in the Byzantine octateuchs in the Vatican: the first (11th cent., Rome, BAV, gr 747, fol. 42v.)5 and second (12th cent., Rome, BAV, gr 746, fol. 80r.)6 (Figure 1), in which Hagar is carrying the child and a saddlebag. In the Canterbury Hexateuch (ca. 1025–49, London, BL, Cotton Claudius B IV, fol. 36r)7 (Figure 2), Hagar and Abraham bid each other farewell, going in opposite directions, and she carries a basket, preceded by Ishmael. In the first Pamplona Bible, which belonged to Sancho the Strong (1197, Amiens, BM, fol. 11r) (Figure 3), Abraham is explicitly carrying the leather waterskin on his back and bread in his hand, sustenance that he is going to give to Hagar. In the Velislaus Bible (mid-14th century, Prague, NKP, XXIII.C.124, fol. 21r) (Figure 4), Hagar is holding Ishmael in one arm while receiving the bread and water offered by Abraham in the other. Ishmael seems to be conversing with the angel—which actually corresponds to the type concerning the divine salvation in the same episode, displaying a fleur-de-lis, which can be interpreted as a symbol of God’s grace that illuminates the path and guides them.8 Nevertheless, in the 14th century the layout of this episode is codified in the two types in the same episode representing the dismissal and the divine salvation in the desert, as demonstrated by the Jean de Sy’s Bible (ca. 1356. Paris, BNF, fr.15397, fol. 33v) (Figure 5) and other cases,9 in which the type is reduced to Hagar holding the small child Ishmael’s hand or arm before Abraham, who is giving instructions. Sometimes, the small iconograph can fit in the small space of a capital letter, as in the so-called Bible of Maugier, heading the Epistle to the Galatians (ca. 1225–1235, Paris, BSG, ms 1180, fol. 335r).

As could be expected of the Renaissance, the depictions aim for greater plausibility with freer depictions compared to what is stated in the Bible, affecting details such as the bread and the waterskin. We can see this in the Lippekerke family’s book of Hours with a cycle on Abraham and Isaac (late 15th century or early 16th century, Amiens, BM, ms. 107, fol. 7v) (Figure 6), in which Hagar dries her tears while receiving from Abraham a jug instead of the waterskin, and the pieces of bread. Jean Colombe, the miniaturist of a famous book of Hours (ca. 1480–1485, Besançon, BM, 148, fol. 82r), presents the scene soberly with Hagar departing with her back to Abraham. Lucas van Leyden is very descriptive in an engraving (ca. 1505–1510 Amsterdam, RijM, RP-P-OB-1588), also introducing Sarah and Isaac in the background.10 In a second version (1516, Amsterdam, RijM, RP-P-OB-1589) (Figure 7), he limits the scene to the basics but goes deeper into the expression of feelings, an aspect that would be fundamental in future depictions, since each artist interprets the topic creatively. The emotional impact of this event could probably also explain its effect on the artistic sphere, expressed by the great many depictions. All in all, from the iconographic point of view, the type was to remain practically unvaried until the 19th century.

We can find these considerations in an oil painting on panel, the work of Jan Mostaert (ca. 1520–1525, Madrid, CThy, 294 [1930.77]) (Figure 8), where the event takes place in the midst of a panoramic cycle that shows Hagar and Ishmael’s expulsion in the foreground with contemporary clothes and surroundings, barefoot as a sign of precariousness. In the background, there is Ishmael and Isaac’s fight with Sarah looking on, while on the opposite side, Hagar and Ishmael are being saved by the angel in the desert, and even further in the background, there is the sacrifice of Isaac. Another panel attributed to the Pseudo Jan Wellens de Cock (1500–1510, Vienna, KM, nr 6820) also deploys a panoramic cycle over the central type that matters to us, presenting the characters with contained emotion, with Ishmael standing out as he mistreats Isaac with a stick. The iconographic type is also seen in other genres such as the mural painting by Christoph Bockstorffer (1577, Colmar, PfH). Georg Pencz interprets the event in a tone of declamation or drama (1541–1545, Amsterdam, RijM, RP-P-H-Z-64) (Figure 9), with a weeping Hagar, Abraham loading her up with the waterskin, an annoyed Sarah in the doorway with her baby, and Ishmael with the bread under his arm and a bow in his hand, faithful to the biblical text, according to which Ishmael enjoyed divine protection and came to be a great archer (Gn 21:20).11 The same elements, albeit without such drama, are also found in the engraving in the series on Hagar and Ishmael by Willem Thibaut (1580, Amsterdam, RijM, RP-P-1878-A-2849).12 Adriaen Collaert also resorted to the panoramic cycle in an engraving on the series about Abraham (ca. 1584–1585, New York, MMA, The Elisha Whittelsey Coll., 51.501.1717[4]), showing Hagar’s farewell in the foreground, holding Ishmael’s hand and bearing bread and a bottle of water, while depicted in the background on one side there is the fight between the two children in front of Sarah, and on the other Hagar with the angel.

Dutch artists in the 16th and 17th centuries displayed great sensitivity in expressing the iconographic type, creating atmospheres with a great variety of psychological and emotional nuances. Indeed, a contrast can be seen between the great number of depictions in the Netherlands and the relative lack of attention paid to this iconographic type in the rest of Europe. Hagar appears at this time in a compassionate and endearing light, which has been explained by a change in mentality, in spite of the heavy presence of Calvinism, which maintained a negative exegesis regarding Hagar and Ishmael.13 It has also been said that this iconographic type was specially addressed by Rembrandt (and through him to his followers) as a reflection of the artist’s personal history.14

As of the second half of the 16th century-onwards, the trend of placing the iconographic type within a broad landscape also took hold. One of the first examples is a panel by an anonymous Flemish artist (1550–1599, Saint-Omer, MHS, 0146CM; 2169). It is also important to highlight this aspect in a design by the landscape artist Paul Brill, worked into an engraving by Willem van Nieulandt II (1594–1685, Amsterdam, RijM, RP-P-1895-A-18944) (Figure 10), in which Abraham is bidding farewell to a weeping Hagar with her son beside a bay.15 The Flemish engraver Nicolaes de Bruyn (1581–1656, Amsterdam, RijM, RP-P-1898-A-20078) also created a broad, bucolic landscape with the group of Abraham, Hagar, and Ishmael in the left corner.16 This mode would also come to French classicism with Claude Lorrain (1668, Munich, AP, Nr. 604), in which the scene takes place with no emotion, as in other European regions, even reaching the 18th century, as in the case of the German Johann Conrad Seekatz (1760–1765, Saint Petersburgh, MEr).17

In the Dutch sphere, in the 17th century, Pieter Lastman created an artwork (1612, Hamburg, K) (Figure 11) with an atmosphere of fantasy in the landscape and characters in fine Eastern-styled clothing, a crying Ishmael carrying a piece of bread under his arm as Abraham sees them off to their fate. In the background, Sarah holds her baby in the midst of a domestic scene with servants and animals, showing the good state of the household.18 Artistic creativity has sometimes gone beyond conventionality, even creating new types as in the case of a canvas by Willem Batsius (1631, London, Sotheby’s, 9 December 2010) (Figure 12) in which Abraham begs an evasive Sarah in vain for compassion for Hagar and her son.

Within the vast amount of Dutch production, we shall limit ourselves to highlighting some cases as regards the conventional type. Jan Lievens left behind a version in an etching that is very sketchy yet of great artistic interest (1625–1674, Amsterdam, RijM, RP-P-OB-58) in which Hagar is on her knees, with a weeping Ishmael in her lap, imploring a distanced, hesitant Abraham who is already turning his back on them.19 There is also the famous engraved etching by Rembrandt (1637, Amsterdam, RijM, RP-P-OB-56) (Figure 13) with the figure of Abraham in the central role, who with restrained misgivings is dismissing a weeping Hagar and a resigned Ishmael, their backs turned, walking; Sarah looks out of the home contented while an innocent Isaac observes.20 Govaert Finck (1640–1660, Berlin, GG, Nr. 815) composed an intimate scene contrasting sentimental expression with a weeping Ishmael, masterfully resolving the communication between Abraham and Hagar via their gazes.21 Jan Victors created various versions, but let us highlight a canvas (1650, Jerusalem, Mis) also focusing on the characters’ psychological state, showing Abraham staring distractedly, immersed in an emotional conflict; the child’s bewilderment gesturing to his father; and in the background, a satisfied Sarah.22 On the other hand, for Gabriel Metsu (ca. 1653, Leiden, SML) (Figure 14), Abraham, with tears in his eyes, is ejecting Hagar and the boy with determination as Sarah leans out of a window making a hostile gesture and Ishmael looks at his mother with worry. Nicolas Maes (1653, New York, MMA) (Figure 15) interprets the figure of Abraham with Judaic clothing, dismissing a barefoot Hagar clothed as a country peasant woman, while Ishmael is already setting off on a journey with his bow and quiver.23 By the time of Adriaen van der Werf (ca. 1696, Dresden, GAM, b. 1823) 24 (Figure 16), a composition of a classical kind was produced with a restrained expression of emotions in which the psychological burden is concentrated in the children: Ishmael is turning back jealously toward an insinuating Isaac, who is hiding behind his father to show security and belonging.25 In the 18th century, we should highlight a composition by Philip van Dyck (1718, Paris, ML [Dep. peintures], INV 1266), which was conveyed to an engraving by Carlo Porporati (1751–1816, Amsterdam, RijM, RP-P-1926-479), in which the event is interpreted in keeping with aesthetics of classicism. Hagar, with a heavy heart, abandons the household while Abraham, who is also pained, indicates the way with an eloquent gesture. Ishmael turns back affectionately to Isaac, who takes refuge in his mother.

In the rest of Europe, this iconographic type did not enjoy the same fortune as in the Netherlands. The French engraver Etienne Delaune, in the series Histoire de la Genèse (1550–1599, Strasbourg, CSD, 77.2013.0.243) also presents the episode in the form of a panoramic cycle, accentuating the expressiveness: Hagar is driven out with her baby in her arms, while in the background, one can see the iconographic type of their divine salvation in the desert. In the Hispanic world, this type is absolutely exceptional, though there is the case of a sketched pen-and-wash drawing attributed to Antonio de Lanchares (1600, Madrid, BNE, DIB/16/2/2). Here, Abraham, in whom the child Isaac seeks refuge, orders the dismissal with a kneeling, prostrate Hagar embracing a disconsolate Ishmael.

The most outstanding cases are to be found in Italian art, with notable differences compared to the north from an iconic point of view. The artists concentrate more on the characters than on the description of the scene, presenting the drama in a more declamatory tone, while not leaving out the psychological nuances. A follower of Francesco Ruschi (London, Sotheby’s, 8-12-2916)26 constructs a scene that is more rhetorical and gestural than realistic in terms of attitudes and gestures: Abraham is giving the order, Hagar and Ishmael are surprised, Sarah is looking on cunningly, while Isaac, with apparent innocence, is playing a festive tambourine. Guercino (ca. 1657, Milan, PBr, Reg. Cron. 322) presents Abraham as an upstanding patriarch, hardly moved by the weeping of Hagar and her son, while Sarah turns her back on the situation. Cristoforo Savolini, educated under the influence of Guercino (ca. 1670, Moscow, MPu, inv. 2662) (Figure 17) arranges a group in which their hands play a very beautifully expressive compositional role. Abraham has his arm around the weeping Hagar, while the latter holds Ishmael’s hand, with Sarah holding Isaac in the background. Mattia Preti composed a scene with an authoritarian Abraham banishing Hagar and Ishmael, who look at him in fear. A drawing by Francesco Zuccarelli (1702–1788, Paris, ML [Dep. Arts graphiques], INV 2659, Recto) shows us the moment that Abraham accompanies Hagar and Ishmael with no concessions to sentimentalism or dramatism, leaving behind a tent where Sarah is doting over her small child. There is also a canvas by the same artist (ca. 1750, Miami, LAM, n. 80.0282) showing Abraham, and also Sarah from a terrace in the house, making condemning gestures with their arm toward Hagar, who abandons the place with dignity, holding her weeping son’s hand.

In the 18th century, we can see original interpretations of the theme, such as the one by Jean-Baptiste Besnard (1700–1799, Rennes, MBA, inv. 871.17.20) in which Hagar has to leave the household dragging Ishmael along the ground. Giuseppe Soleri Brancaleoni composed a masterful oil painting on canvas (1750–1806, Rimini, MCi, inv. 201 PQ [1986]) with great expressiveness: Hagar is leaving with a sack and a cooking pot, with Abraham pointing the way with an emphatic gesture as Ishmael shows his fondness by kissing his hand. From the Rococo period, a composition by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (n.d., Mailand, Cp) was cataloged according to this iconographic type.27 Adapting to the neoclassical aesthetic, the Swiss painter Angelica Kauffmann expresses each character’s feelings in a very refined way in a canvas signed in Rome28 (1792): Hagar is leaving with resignation, already turning her back on the elderly Abraham, taking an adolescent Ishmael by the arm, who turns his back on his father, the latter bidding them farewell also with a heavy heart. This aesthetic is also followed in the depiction in the engraving by Jacob Folkema published by Jan de Groot (1791, Amsterdam, RijM, RP-P-1933-31) on one page incorporating the two engravings of the expulsion of Hagar and the divine salvation in the desert. Josef Danhauser, by then in the Biedermeier period (ca. 1836, Vienna, KM, n. 2553) (Figure 18) constructs the type with a very different sensibility: Abraham is a Jew (in the pejorative sense that such a concept carried in the artist’s cultural context) who does not “bid farewell” but “banishes” Hagar with indifference, without looking at her face, while a teary Hagar still seems to be begging. An irritated, proud Ishmael is already taking her by the arm to set off. A mound of fruit on the ground, signifying abundance, contrasts with the frugal bread and jug of water with which Hagar and Ishmael are departing. There is also a noteworthy visual manifestation of this type given by the biblical illustrations by Gustave Doré (ca 1880), who creates a scene in the desert. In the background, in front of the tent in which the family lives with their cattle, Sarah is holding a sleeping Isaac in her arms while Abraham, with a severe gesture expressing compassion and determination, bids farewell to Hagar, who is leaving in the direction of the viewer bearing a water vase, taking a crying Ishmael with her. In the Late Modern period, this iconographic type would be interpreted more freely, with artistic creativity placing the accent on more subjective aspects. That occurs with the sculpture by George Segal entitled Abraham’s Farewell to Ishmael (1987, Miami, PAMM) (Figure 19), especially aimed at expressing the tenderness of Abraham’s embrace for Ishmael. Hagar departs with resignation, turning her back on them, with Sarah looking on discreetly. The group displays a range of human emotions and invites the onlooker to take part in the drama of the farewell. Moving around the characters, the viewer can experience the psychological dynamics of this dramatic story. It has even been said that the construction of the story put forward by Segal expresses today’s Arab–Israeli conflict, symbolized as of its biblical roots.29

3. Conclusions

In conclusion, the concept of “continuity and variation” has served to contrast how this iconographic type has remained over time with some invariable components: Abraham bids farewell to Hagar, sending her to her fate, whereas Ishmael, depending on the case, is a defenseless child seeking refuge in his mother, or else he is an adolescent who drags her with him; Sarah always appears withdrawn but attentive to what is happening, while Isaac is a baby or small child who does not manage to perceive what is happening. All in all, the variety of expressive nuances is very important depending on each case. In this study, we have merely intended to show the codification of the type in order to establish an analytical foundation prior to another kind of hermeneutic or iconological study.