Abraham Casting Out Hagar and Ishmael (c. 1630s–50s): Art, History and Details

Abraham Casting Out Hagar and Ishmael (c. 1630s–50s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Pieter de Grebber (Dutch, 1590–1663).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In this drawing, the Haarlem artist Pieter de Grebber depicted the Old Testament subject of the handmaid Hagar and her son Ishmael being cast out into the wilderness by Abraham. A popular story in the Protestant Netherlands, its theme played into the society’s emphasis on charity and compassion for immigrants or outcasts. De Grebber focused the scene on Abraham’s dismissive gesture and Hagar’s tearfully wilted form, beautifully rendered with carefully shaded drapery.

Object facts

• Title: Abraham Casting Out Hagar and Ishmael
• Date: c. 1630s–50s
• Creator attribution: Pieter de Grebber (Dutch, 1590–1663)
• Culture: Netherlands
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: black and white chalks on antique laid blue paper
• Dimensions: Support: 56.5 x 39.7 cm (22 1/4 x 15 5/8 in.); Matted: 62.9 x 41.3 x 0.3 cm (24 3/4 x 16 1/4 x 1/8 in.); Image: 43.4 x 27.8 cm (17 1/16 x 10 15/16 in.)
• Collection: DR - Dutch
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 2019.3

A detail from the museum

The story of Hagar and her son Ishmael cast into the wilderness seen in this drawing was popular in 17th-century Holland for its emphasis on charity and compassion for immigrants.

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Andrews, Keith, “On Some Drawings by Pieter de Grebber,” Master Drawings Vol. 22/No. 3 (Autumn, 1984):

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.