Domenico Zampieri, called Domenichino, a Bolognese, painted this arch in celebration of Saint John the Baptist in Rome, and through it acknowledged his friend and protector Giovanni Battista Agucchi, a great theorist of Roman classicism. The emblems and biblical passages on the architecture allude to virtues associated with the saint. The painting comes from the collection of the painter Carlo Mar
God tested Abraham’s faith by ordering him to sacrifice his son Isaac. As he was about to carry this out, an angel held back his arm (Genesis 22: 1-19). Trained in the Academy of the Carracci in Bologna, Domenichino moved to Rome in 1602. This painting was one of a group of works commissioned from Italian artists for the Alcázar in Madrid.
This is the best-documented painting in the entire History of Rome cycle. It is also one of the works that raises the most questions about aspects as important as its authorship and its subject matter. Giambattista Passeri narrated how Domenichino was contracted by the Count of Monterrey, who became Spain’s Viceroy to Naples in 1634, and how Monterrey protected this painter when he was threatened
Esta obra procede de la colección de Felipe V en el palacio de La Granja (Segovia), donde aparece inventariada como de escuela de Domenichino. Es probable que la versión original de esta composición sea la que muestra una copia del siglo XIX conservada en Ferrara (Fondazione Cassa di Rispiarmo). Pintada sobre lienzo, es de mayor tamaño y presenta ligeras variantes en la disposición de las manos de
El dibujo fue publicado por R. Spear en relación con un cuadro de Domenichino en el Allen Memorial Museum de Oberlin (U.S.A.), ya que presenta una disposición muy semejante del grupo central y es idéntica la figura del barquero. El dibujo se fecha junto con el cuadro en la década de 1610 y es ejemplo de la primera actividad de Domenichino como paisajista derivado de Annibale Carracci. Otro dibujo