The Dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael
- Catalog
- WD-D06
- Artist
- Willem Drost
- Year
- c. 1652–55
- Medium
- Pen and brown ink
- Dimensions
- 14.5 × 12.5 cm
- Location
- Private Collection (formerly De Clercq Collection)
Description
A small pen and brown ink drawing depicting the biblical scene from Genesis 21:14, where Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness. Attributed to Drost by leading scholars.
Analysis
This drawing was attributed to Drost by Peter Schatborn and cautiously endorsed by Martin Royalton-Kisch (confirmed by email, 27 Feb 2023). Sold at Christie's Paris, Feb 2023 (lot 39, Dessins anciens). Provenance: Herman de Kat (1784–1865), Rotterdam; sold as Rembrandt in 1867; acquired by Joannes de Clercq; by descent to current owners. Parallels for the finely drawn faces and extensive hatching can be found in drawings by Drost in the Kunsthalle Bremen (inv. 54/437), the Kupferstichkabinett Berlin (KdZ 1120), and the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York (I,195).
Historical Context
The First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654) raged during this period, with naval battles at Portland, the Gabbard, and Scheveningen where Admiral Maarten Tromp was killed. The Delft Thunderclap of 1654 devastated the city and killed Carel Fabritius, Rembrandt’s most gifted former pupil. Queen Christina of Sweden abdicated and converted to Catholicism in Rome. Blaise Pascal experienced his conversion to Jansenism. Drost worked independently in Amsterdam, competing in a vibrant art market while Rembrandt began his descent into bankruptcy.