“Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.”
This story, of the near sacrifice of the child Isaac, is a founding story in all three of the Abrahamic religions, and one of the most troubling. For millennia it has been told and retold and analysed and debated over and depicted in art and poetry, with each new interpretation adding new perspectives and insight into what we can learn of ourselves and of God from this passage.
As such, it felt wrong to offer just one artwork this week. So, instead take your time as you dwell with the story; look at each painting in turn, try to read the emotions in the characters, and see how each different artist has wrestled with this narrative.
Unknown artist, Ibrāhīm is Willing to Sacrifice Ismāʿīl, in Qisas al-Anbiya (Stories of the Prophets) Classmark: Diez A fol. 3, f.42r, 1577, place of origin Shiraz, colour illumination.
NB: In the Islamic tradition it is Ishmael, not Isaac that is bound and offered for sacrifice.
Boris Subotic (b. Bosnia and Herzegovina 1990), The Sacrifice of Isaac, 2020, painting, oil on homemade linen canvas, inspired by Sacrifice of Isaac, Caravaggio.
Glenna Goodacre (b. USA 1939-2020), Vietnam Nurses Memorial, Washington D.C., cast bronze statue.
Many contemporary artists have brought the figure of Sarah back into the frame, and some have also linked the story of the sacrifice of Isaac with the casualties of conscripted young men in global conflicts.
Abel Pann, an Israeli artist, (b. Latvia 1883-1963), The Sacrifice of Isaac, 1930, pastel on paper.
Bible Passage: Genesis 22:1 - 25:11
My Big Story Bible: Pages 20 - 22
Read More: Here are articles explaining three of the different theological interpretations of the story of the binding of Isaac: Alexis James Waggoner (Women in Theology), Andy Patton (Bible Project) and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.