On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P00500
- Author
- Veronese, Paolo (Italian)
- Title
- The Sacrifice of Isaac
- Chronology
- Ca. 1586
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 129 cm x 95 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
An image of the Old Testament scene
(Genesis 22, 1-19) in which, on the
orders of God, Abraham prepares to
sacrifice his son, Isaac. Seeing
that Abraham follows his orders
with blind faith, God accepts this
as proof of his faithfulness and
sends an angel to save Isaac at the
last moment, ordering that a lamb
be sacrificed in his place. This
passage from the Bible is
understood as a foreshadowing of
Christ's sacrifice on the
Cross.
The main scene occurs in the
foreground, with a semi-nude Isaac
being held on the sacrificial altar
by his father, Abraham, whose right
hand bears the knife. An angel
holds his arm in order to stop the
sacrifice.
Like others from the fifteen
eighties, this late work merges the
characters into the landscape. The
figures are ordered diagonally. The
angel and Isaac are luminous, but
the former's light casts the
surprised patriarch's face into
shadow.
This work was acquired at the
auction of the belongings of
Charles I of England and was
installed at the Monastery of El
Escorial, where it remained until
entering the Prado Museum
collection in 1837.
Location on the map
