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Gainsborough's only original religious composition, this work was painted around 1788. Mother and son are shown trudging into the dark wilderness. Following the description given in Genesis XXI, 9-15 Hagar carries the precious water bottle on her shoulder. With its rich, dark tonalities, this picture is an essay in the style of the seventeenth-century Spanish painter Murillo, who was a powerful influence on Gainsborough in the 1780s.