광야의 하갈

Pittoni painted this around 1720, when Venice was no longer a great power but was still turning out some of the most graceful painting in Europe. The story comes from Genesis. Cast out into the desert with her son Ishmael, the slave Hagar has run out of water and laid the boy down to die, and at that moment an angel appears to point her toward a hidden well. Pittoni catches the instant of rescue, the angel sweeping in with an arm outstretched while Hagar turns, still half in despair. He works in soft, light Rococo colours and elegant gestures rather than heavy drama. The canvas was made for the Frari, the great Franciscan church in Venice, where it hangs in the sacristy.