Abraham’s Sacrifice Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn

A very fine, early impression of the only state, with rich burr, printing with light plate tone and strong contrasts in the shadows. With narrow margins. Rembrandt had already treated the subject of the 'Sacrifice of Isaac' in a painting of 1635 (Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg), but the etched version is more subtle in its staging. Abraham presses Isaac’s head against his side and covers his eyes, shielding him from the knife in his other hand. At the decisive moment, the angel intervenes, his outstretched wings framing the central group. The figures are largely defined in outline against the darker, tonal background, the composition essentially completed in etching and enriched with touches of drypoint. The steep ravine of Mount Moriah heightens the drama, while the distant resting figures and travellers recall Rembrandt’s depictions of the 'Agony in the Garden' (B. 75; New Holl. 269). The association is particularly meaningful, since the sacrifice of Isaac was traditionally understood in Christian theology as an Old Testament prefiguration of Christ’s sacrifice. A related drawing by Rembrandt in the British Museum, London (inv. no. 1897, 1117.5), dated to the mid-1630s, depicts a slightly later moment, as the angel restrains Abraham’s hand and the knife falls away. Although executed some twenty years before the etching, the close relationship between the compositions suggests that Rembrandt may have returned to his earlier treatment of the subject when creating the print. – The corner tips skilfully made up. – A small repair to the left of the large rock. Verso with an old adhesive strip along the upper edge. Otherwise in good condition. | 1606 Leiden - Amsterdam 1669 | 15.-18. Jahrhundert | Druckgrafik | Nummer: 26x2178 | Provenance: Louis Godefroy (1885–1934), expert and art dealer, Paris, with his collector’s stamp verso (Lugt 2971a); his posthumous sale, Sotheby’s, London, 29 June 1937, 'The Sacrifice of Abraham' sold for £100 (the present impression cited under Lugt 2971a).

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