Hagar and the Angel

Dateshortly after 1630

Maker Bernardo Strozzi Italian, 1581-1644

Label TextIn a story told in the Book of Genesis, a servant girl named Hagar became pregnant by Abraham, and fled to the wilderness after a quarrel with Abraham's wife Sarah. In her desolation, she was surprised by the appearance of an angel, who encouraged her to return to her mistress and revealed that her son would be a great leader. The Genovese artist Strozzi creates a metaphorical wilderness out of nothing but darkness, into which the arrival of the angel sheds bright light.

Object number61.168

ProvenanceArt Market, Rome, by 1914; Eugen (d. 1922) and Hedwig Hirsch (d. 1941) Platky, Leipzig, by 1915 - still in 1938 [1]; acquired jointly by [Herbert Bier, London] and [Frederick Mont, London then New York], 1941 [2]; purchased outright from Bier by [Frederick Mont], October 1941; with [Mont Inc., New York, to 1948]; Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York, March 2, 1948; Seattle Art Museum, since 1952, accessioned 1961 [1] Mentioned as in Platky collection in Eduard Plietzsch, "Gemaeldegalerie: Einige neue Erwerbungen," in Amtliche Berichte aus den Koeniglichen Kunstsammlungen, October 1915, p. 5 [2] Inventory no. 223, Herbert Bier Archives, Wallace Collection, London. Elizabeth Mignon Aber, daughter of Eugen and Hedwig Platky, emigrated to Britain in the 1930s and brought with her a portion of the family art collection, some of which was later sold at auction in London in 1962. Items from the collection remaining in Germany were sold in December 1941 and July 1942; before which this painting was already in the possession of Bier and Mont in London. This picture is not among those listed as missing from the Platky collection on the www.lostart.de website.

Photo CreditPhoto: Paul Macapia

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Italian Art: Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952. Text by Suida, William and Sherman Lee. Cat. no. 20; pp. 8, 20. New York, New York, New York Jewish Museum, Hebrew Bible in Christian, Jewish and Muslim Art, 1963. Cat. no. 33. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, 2500 Years of Italian Art, Nov. 10 - Dec. 8 1958. Cat. no. 48. Binghamton, New York, University Art Gallery, State University at Binghamton, Bernardo Strozzi, 1967. Text by Michael Milkovich. Cat. no. 27, p. 66. Published ReferencesPlietzsch, Eduard. "Gemaldegalerie: Einige neue Erwerbungen." Amtliche Berichte aus den Koniglichen Kunstsammlungen 37 (1915): p. 10. Voss, Herman. "Die Sammlung Platky in Leipzig." Zeitschrift fur Bildende Kunst 30 (1919): pp. 19, 28. Fiocco, Giuseppe. Bernardo Strozzi: ventiquattro riproduzioni con testo e catalogo. Rome, Italy: Biblioteca d'arte illustrata, 1921; p.15. Grosso, Orlando. "Note ed appunti su Bernardo Strozzi." Rassegna d'arte 22 (1922): p.160. Kunze, Irene. Beschreibendes Verzeichnis der Gemalde im kaiser-Friedrich-Museum und Deutschen Museum. Berlin, Germany: Staatl. Museen zu Berlin, 1931; no. 1727, pl. 464. Fiocco, Giuseppe. Bernardo Strozzi. Kunstlerlexikon: 32. Edited by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker. Leipzig: E.A. Seemann, 1938; p.208. Suida, William and Richard Fuller. European Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1954; p. 62, reproduced p. 63. Holy Bible. Chicago: Catholic Press Inc., 1956; reproduced. Engagement Book. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1961. Matteucci, Anna Maria. "Bernardo Strozzi." From series I maestri del colore, 134. Milan, Italy: Fabbri Editori, 1966. Matteuci, Anna Maria. "Mortari, Maria Luisa: Bernardo Strozzi--Roma, 1966." Arte Veneta 20 (1966): pp. 296-297, pl. 4. Mortari, Luisa. Bernardo Strozzi. Rome, Italy: De Luca, 1966; pp. 92, 175. Matteuci, Anna Maria. Arte Veneta 22 (1968): p. 264ff. Shapley, Fern Rusk. Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Italian Schools XVI-XVIII Century. London, England: Phaidon Press for the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1973; p. 89, fig. 160. Ishikawa, Chiyo. The Samuel H. Kress Collection at the Seattle Art Museum. Seattle, Wash.: Seattle Art Museum, 1997; fig. 31, pp. 49-52, reproduced p. 15. Perry, Marily. Studying and Conserving Paintings: Occasional papers on the Samuel H. Kress Collection. London, England and New York: The Conservation Center of the Institute of fine Arts, New York University, 2006; p. v. Atti: XLIV Convegno Internazionale Della Ceramica. Centro Ligure per la Storia Della Ceramica. Savona, Italy. May 27-28, 2011; p. 95. Ishikawa, Chiyo. "Seattle Art Museum." In Italian Treasures in the U.S.: An Itinerary of Art. Edited by Renato Miracco. Rome, Italy: Gangemi Editore International Publishing, 2015; p. 200.

Credit LineSamuel H. Kress Collection

Dimensions48 7/8 x 37 in. (124.14 x 93.98 cm)

MediumOil on canvas