Leiden 1606 - 1669 Amsterdam

Abraham’s Sacrifice, 1655

Etching and drypoint

157 x 133 mm.; 6 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches

Watermark:

Provenance:

S. William Pelletier (with his mark)

Reference:

Bartsch/Hollstein 35

Hind 283

Biörklund/Barnard 55-B

Notes:

1. A superb, early impression with inky plate edges and printing with considerable plate-tone. Strong burr on Abraham’s shirt and also on the left edge of the composition.

2. The reference here is to Genesis XXII, 10-12:

    ...God put Abraham to the test. ..Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of     Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you...On the third day, Abraham got sight of the place from afar. Then he said to his servants: Both of you stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over yonder...When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up his son Isaac and put him on top of the wood of the altar. Then he reached out and took out the knife to slaughter his son. But the Lord’s messenger called out to him from heaven: "Abraham, Abraham...Do not lay your hand on the boy...I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son. ..As Abraham looked about, he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So he went and took the ram and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.

3. Instead of representing the Angel "calling from heaven", as descibed in Genesis, Rembrandt brings the Angel, with fluttering wings and hair still agitated from the wind of the flight, directly onto the scene. The angel has vigorously seized the arms of Abraham, stopping him physically from carrying out the barbaric sacrifice which he thought had been assigned to him by God. This work again shows to what extent Rembrandt read and studied the Bible. In this case, all the elements of this scene, as described in the Bible, are present: the angel, the two servants, the donkey, and even the ram. To all of these, Rembrandt added one previously undescribed element: the sacrificial altar.

4. The former owner of this work, the late S. William Pelletier, was one of the most astute 20th century collectors of 17th century Dutch prints. Together with Leonard J. Slatkes and Linda Stone-Ferrier, Pelletier was the author of Adriaen Van Ostade: Etchings of Peasant Life in Holland’s Golden Age (edited by Patricia Phagan), Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, 1993.