Oil painting, 'Hagar and Ishmael in the Wilderness', follower of Pier Francesco Mola, mid 17th century

A woman dressed in red and ochre with a white veil is pointing out a child resting on the far left while she looking at an angel floating in the air on the right; a mountainous landscape in the background bathed in an atmospheric sunset light.

Bequeathed by Rev., Alexander Dyce

Bequeathed by Rev. Alexander Dyce, 1869
South Kensington Museum Art Handbooks. The Dyce and Forster Collections. With Engravings and Facsimiles. Published for the Committee of Council on Education by Chapman and Hall, Limited, 193, Piccadilly, London. 1880. Chapter I. Biographical Sketch of Mr. Dyce. pp.1-12, including 'Portrait of Mr. Dyce' illustrated opposite p.1.

Science and Art Department of the Committee of Council on Education, South Kensington Museum.A Catalogue of the Paintings, Miniatures, Drawings... Bequeathed by The Reverend Alexander Dyce. London, 1874. A 'Note' on page v comments, 'This catalogue refers to the Art portion of the Collection bequeathed to the South Kensington Museum by the Reverend Alexander Dyce, the well-known Shakespearian scholar, who died May 15, 1869'. The Catalogue. Paintings, Miniatures, &c. by Samuel Redgrave notes of the 'Oil Paintings', 'The strength of Mr. Dyce's valuable bequest to Department of Science and Art does not lie in [this] portion ... which is in its nature of a very miscellaneous character. The collection was made apparently as objects offered themselves, and without any special design.' Dyce's main interest was in literary subjects, and this is reflected in many of the paintings he bequeathed to the V&A.

Historical significance: This painting originally attributed to Pierfrancesco Mola was most likely executed by one of his many followers as the composition betrays some weakness in the spatial organisation while the brushwork does not appear as refine as the original. Dr Eric Schleier (written communication, Jul 2010) asserted that the painting was not by Mola, nor Giovanni Battista Pace (active ca. 1650-ca. 1664) nor Girolamo Troppa (1630-after 1710).
The present painting illustrates an episode narrated in the Genesis (21:17): Hagar, the Egyptian maid of Sarah was made pregnant by Sarah's husband, Abraham. When Sarah became pregnant with Isaac, she asked Abraham to send away Hagar and her son, Ishmael. Hagar and Ishmael wandered in the desert and were about to die when an angel rescued them by showing Hagar a well. Ishmael is regarded as the patriarch of the Ishmaelites, i.e. the Arabs, while Isaac is described as the father of the Israelites.
The work shows indeed Hagar despaired, wiping her face with her white veil, and the little Ishmael resting under a tree. An angel appears to Hagar and stretches out his arms to show her the emplacement of the well. The composition is very close to Pierfrancesco Mola's own version of this subject, now housed in the National Museum of Art of Romania. Mola's composition is however depicted from a closer point of view and is dominated by a cool palette of dark brown, white and blue enlivened by the ochre of Hagar's dress. The V&A painting shows traces of pentimenti in the figure of the angel, whose previous appearance was very similar to Mola's original with the head turned towards Hagar in three quarter profile. The present painter substituted the blue pigment of the Mola's with pink and brownish ones, which provide the picture with a rather monochrome aspect. He imitated the horizon line bathed in the sunset light which emphasizes the dramatic atmosphere of the subject matter.

History painting, i.e. depictions of non recurring events based on religious, classical, literary or allegorical sources, particularly developed in Italy during the Renaissance (15th-16th centuries). History painting could include religious themes, or depictions of momentous recent events, but the term was most frequently associated with Classical subject-matter. However a renewed impetus was given to religious subjects after the Council of Trent (1545-63), which stipulated new iconographical programmes. The development of art treatises, in which the compositional rules guiding the art of painting were discussed also notably, influenced the evolution of history painting. From around 1600 history painting's principal rivals: still-life, landscape and genre painting began to emerge as independent collectable genres. Furthermore, the Rococo taste for the ornamental in the early 18th century prioritised the decorative quality of history painting, so that subject matters became more entertaining than exemplary. There was a renewed interest in history painting during the Neo-Classical period after which the taste for such pictures faded towards the end of the 19th century when an innovative approach to the image was led by the Symbolists and was developed further by subsequent schools in the early 20th century.

Pier Francesco Mola (1612-1666) was born in Coldrerio near Lugano but grew up in Rome where he spent most of his life. He may have trained though in Northern Italy, notably with Francesco Albani (1578-1660) in Bologna. Established in Rome by 1647, Mola received many important commissions and became principal of the Roman Accademia di San Luca in 1662, but resigned a year later owing to ill-health.

This painting was probably executed by a follower of Mola. It illustrates the story of Hagar and Ismael in the wilderness (Genesis) in a quite monochrome palette of reddish brown enlivened by the pink of Hagar's dress. This type of history painting was very popular in 17th-century Rome, which progressively developed a taste for small mythological scenes set in large idyllic landscape reminiscent of the Roman countryside.

DYCE.6