The Sacrifice of Abraham

In Rembrandt’s etching of the Old Testament story, Abraham kneels before his son Isaac, poised to sacrifice him as a test of his faith. At the last moment, God sends an angel to prevent the harrowing act, providing a lamb as an alternative offering. Although Rembrandt does not include the lamb, the figures in the background closely follow the description of the scene in Genesis. Abraham’s servants were told to stay back with the mule while he and his son performed the sacrifice––they can be seen waiting below the hill in the bottom right corner.

This was not the first time Rembrandt composed an image of this biblical story. In 1635, he created a more theatrical interpretation in a painting entitled The Sacrifice of Isaac. Abraham forcefully palms his son’s face with one hand, revealing the vulnerable flesh of Isaac’s neck. The 1655 etching is gentler in contrast, highlighting the empathetic connection between Abraham and the angel. The angel’s tight grip on Abraham’s hands, one of which still holds the knife, stresses the tension of the scene. At the same time, his thickly feathered wings and encircling arms tenderly shield and embrace the sorrowful father.

The dramatic lighting further heightens the spirituality of the moment, with sharp diagonal lines representing beams of heavenly light. In the background, dark crosshatching builds up depth while foregrounding the triangular formation of the three protagonists. The hatching in the shadows appears to be applied over a more simply etched initial composition, giving the piece a less finished look than some of his other prints that mimic his oil paintings more directly. Finally, Rembrandt added drypoint to areas where greater detail was desired, which can be best observed on the figures and the cloak behind Isaac.

This impression is from the only state of the print, and features a collector’s mark George W. Reid (1819–1887), a prints curator at the British Museum in London.

Written by Bridget Donner, edited by Simone Edgar Holmes

Bibliography

Hinterding, Erik, and Ger Luijten, Martin Royalton-Kisch, Marijn Schapelhouman, Peter Schatborn, and Ernst van de. Wetering. Rembrandt the Printmaker. London: British Museum Press, 2001.

Lugt, Frits. “Reid, George W.: L.1210.” Frits Lugt, Les Marques de Collections de Dessins & d’Estampes. Accessed July 8, 2020. http://www.marquesdecollections.fr/detail.cfm/marque/7337/total/1. 

The State Hermitage Museum. “Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn. 1606-1669, Sacrifice of Isaac.” Accessed July 8, 2020, https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/digital-collection/01.+Paintings/43367.

White, Christopher. Rembrandt as Etcher: A Study of the Artist at Work. University Park and London: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1969.