Lot 2227 Dα

Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld arrived in Rome in 1817 and remained there for the next ten years. These years were artistically extraordinarily fruitful, and it was during this time that he developed the idea of a "Bible in pictures" - initially conceived as a joint venture with the other artists of the Nazarene group. The original project did not come to fruition, but Schnorr continued to pursue the idea and already began to execute his first Old Testament motifs in Rome, which are among his most beautiful early drawings. Schnorr's famous "Bible in Pictures" did not appear until 1860. The work is a portrayal of the Old and New Testaments that largely dispenses with text and conveys the biblical content by means of 240 woodcut engravings. It was the most successful people's and children's Bible throughout the 19th century.
This pen and ink drawing in brown fits stylistically into the series of these first drafts for the picture cycle. Schnorr von Carolsfeld later modified this version of the depiction "The Expulsion of Hagar" (Gen. 21:8-21) using individual motifs, such as the vine or the mother and child in the background.