Father Abraham

The painting is named after the 1995 children’s song, Father Abraham by Pierre Kartner.
The scene depicts the first patriarch Abraham in the centre, the father of Isaac (on the left), and Ishmael (on the right). Abraham was 100 years old and his wife, Sarah was 90 years old when she bore their son, Isaac. Sarah’s Egyptian slave girl, Hagar with her young teenage son, Ishmael was dismissed and sent away as Sarah witnessed Hagar’s child mocking young Isaac.

God said to Abraham in Genesis 17:19-20
"Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers.”

The Jewish symbol, the Star of David shines above young Issac’s head, and the Islamic crescent and star over Ishmael’s head. Isaac is an important figure to the Jews, being the father of Jacob, who was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel; and Ishmael is an important figure to the Muslims as he was an ancestor to their prophet Muhammed.