Skip to main content

Abraham and Hagar

Artist/Maker (German, ca. 1500–1550)
Dateca. 1548
MediumEngraving
DimensionsImage: 4 1/2 × 3 in. (11.4 × 7.6 cm)
Sheet: 4 9/16 × 3 1/16 in. (11.6 × 7.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Max Kade Foundation
Object number1968.120
Status
Not on view
More Information
Along with figures such as Hans Sebald and Bartel Beham, Nuremberg-based artist Georg Pencz (ca. 1500-50) is known as one of the “Little Masters,” a term that references these artists’ prolific output of small-format prints. In the small engraving shown here, Pencz illustrates the Old Testament story of Abram (Abraham), his wife Sarai (Sarah), and their servant, Hagar. As recounted in Genesis 16, when Sarai is unable to conceive, she suggests that Abram have a child with Hagar instead. Here, Pencz depicts the encounter between Abram and Hagar that ensued. Via the soft lighting that falls over the scene, as well as the emphasis on Abram and Hagar’s entwined, unclothed bodies, Pencz harnesses the erotic potential of this biblical story, subtly alluded to by the figure of Sarai, who peeks in from the background.
Exhibition History
Daughters of Eve: Representations of Women in German Renaissance Prints
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 9, 1993 - March 28, 1993 )
Quality and Technique in Prints
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (October 4, 1996 - December 22, 1996 )
German Renaissance Prints 1470-1550
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 27, 1999 - January 30, 2000 )
Printing Practice: Religious Prints from the Renaissance
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 6, 2012 - December 23, 2012 )
Collections
  • European