The subject is from the Old Testament (Genesis 21: 17-18). After Abraham had expelled his mistress Hagar & their son Ishmael, mother & child ran out of water in the wilderness. An angel of the Lord then called to Hagar to lift up her son, ' For I will make him a great nation'. Assereto's known work is mainly of religious subjects. Another version of this painting is in the Palazzo Rosso, Genoa.