Hagar by Rubens

Here Hagar is driven away by Abraham and his wife Sarah. Interesting is that there the boy Ishmael is missing. Instead of this Hagar is pregnant. So it seems that the famous Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) gives a very subjective interpretation of the old story. A pregnant servant is chased away by her master and his wife. The difference could be seen in the elegant silk clothes of Sarah compared to the common clothes of Hagar. The aggressive dog is a nice detail as well.

It’s a scene which was easy to understand for the people in the time of Rubens. So he didn’t make any effort to give the painting a historical or oriental look. This happened every day.

Hagar Leaves the House of Abraham (1615)