The Sacrifice of Isaac
Artist:Giovanni Battista Piazzetta
| Support Type: | Canvas |
| Paint Type: | Oil Paint |
| Current Location: | Museu Nacional d\'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona |
| Location History: | The painting surfaced on the art market in 1921 and passed through several notable collections — London, New York, Geneva — before Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza acquired it in 1980 for his Villa Favorita, which already held two other Piazzetta works: the Portrait of Giulia Lama and a self-portrait drawing. A vertical-format replica exists in Dresden's Gemäldegalerie, with minor compositional differences — most notably, the angel physically restrains Abraham rather than simply signaling him. A near-identical copy attributed to Francesco Capella once appeared on the Italian market paired with a scene of Hagar and Ishmael, which led scholar Roberto Contini to speculate that Piazzetta's original may also have had a companion piece on that subject — now lost. |
This piece titled ' The Sacrifice of Isaac depicts a significant moment in the Bible. The Biblical stories frame the basis for many such paintings. Giovanni Battista Piazzetta is one of the most influential painters from Italy . The foreground is dark. There are light colours in the painting as well. Genesis is the book from which the text has been taken. God tests Abraham by asking him to sacrifice lsaac . Abraham carries out the order, therefore attempting to kill his own son lsaac. An angel intervenes the action, preventing the father from killing his very own sun . Abraham looks shocked , as if he didn't expect something like this to happen.
Information Compiled by
Sesil Kavrak