The Expulsion of Hagar 1668

Claude Lorrain painted ‘The Expulsion of Hagar’ with oil on canvas to depict a moment of profound biblical drama, somewhere around 1668. Here, Abraham gestures outwards, banishing Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness. Notice how this act unfolds before a classical building, its pillars echoing the figures' upright stance. The landscape stretches, vast and indifferent, much like the world confronting the exiled. This gesture of expulsion, of pushing away, carries a weight of cultural memory. We see it echoed in countless depictions of saints casting out demons or rulers banishing enemies, and this posture resonates with both authority and profound regret. Think of the emotional power embedded in that outstretched hand, a symbol of both rejection and the painful necessity of letting go. It is an archetype that transcends time, reappearing across cultures, a testament to our shared human experience of separation and loss. The image lingers in the mind, a reminder of the cyclical nature of human drama, forever resurfacing in our art and our collective consciousness.