Carrara marble.

The group was originally conceived in 1842 under the title “Hagar with the Fainting Ishmael” for Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg and his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolayevna. It is now housed in the Hermitage, Saint Petersburg.

At least four versions of the work are known: the first for the Duke of Leuchtenberg, and three others commissioned by museums and private collectors in England, inspired by the sculptures Imhof exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1846. A plaster cast from 1845 is held at the Kunstmuseum Bern.

This impressive marble sculpture depicts the moving biblical scene of Hagar and her son Ishmael, cast out into the desert and shown at the point of exhaustion — just before their salvation by God himself.

Inscribed on the base: “HEINRICH IMHOF FEC ROMA 1849.”

Reference:
Dieter Ulrich, “Imhof, Heinrich Max,” in Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (HLS), version of January 22, 2008. Online: https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/022035/2008-01-22/ accessed October 10, 2025.