Pharaoh Gives Sarah Back to Abraham

About this artwork

outer size: depth 7.5 cm (support incl. frame)

Art Historical Context

In the grand tradition of Dutch Golden Age history painting, Isaac Isaacsz's *Pharaoh Gives Sarah Back Abraham* (1640) captures a dramatic biblical episode from Genesis 12. Here, the Pharaoh—afflicted by divine plagues for taking the prophet Abraham's wife Sarah, believing her to be his sister—returns her unharmed. Isaacsz, a Leiden-based artist known for his narrative scenes, infuses the moment with tension and moral clarity, emphasizing themes of faith, providence, and human folly that resonated deeply in the Protestant Netherlands of the 17th century. Rendered in oil on canvas, a medium pr...

About the Artist

Isaac Isaacsz · 1589–1689

Comment on works: History; Portraits