The Sacrifice of Isaac
Medium
oil on wood
Dimensions
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Classification
Painting
Department
European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Delia E. Holden and L. E. Holden Funds
Accession Number
1937.577
Tags
About this artwork
In this dramatic test of faith from the Old Testament book of Genesis, Abraham agrees to slay his son Isaac on God’s command. As Abraham raises the knife, an angel suddenly appears to halt the sacrifice. This work gains its power from the complex expressions of father and son, combining grief, strength, resignation, fear, and realization in their faces and bodies, the latter inspired by ancient sculpture and Michelangelo. Andrea del Sarto never finished this painting, and it lays bare his workin...