Description: Pen and reddish-brown ink, point of brush in brown, brown and grey wash, 124 x 139 mm. Laid down. Inscribed on the lower left side, Rembrant f, and numbered in the lower right corner, 1841 (Sparre).

Genesis 16:7 tells of Hagar who, alone in the desert and resting by a well, hears the voice of the Lord admonishing her to return home. This corresponds with the pose of the woman with her head raised and a staff and basket, and with what might be a well nearby. The subject is unusual; perhaps the artist wanted to take on a different episode, even though it contained fewer dramatic possibilities.

The central part of the sheet is in pen and reddish ink, and differs from the rest of the drawing. The surrounding landscape is executed with the brush, with areas of brown and grey wash. The wash stops 5 mm inside the edge of the paper, and is clearly a later addition. The angular manner of the pen drawing recalls Lastman, and according to Sumowski this is an early drawing of c. 1642–43, dependent on Lastman. It is not possible to determine whether the brushwork was added later by the artist or by someone else. [Magnusson, Dutch Drawings no. 145]

Hagar vid källan på väg till Shur