The Sacrifice of Isaac, Jacopo da Empoli

Artwork Overview

Jacopo da Empoli, The Sacrifice of Isaac
Jacopo da Empoli, The Sacrifice of Isaac
Jacopo da Empoli
The Sacrifice of Isaac
circa 1615–1620
Jacopo da Empoli, artist
circa 1554–1640
The Sacrifice of Isaac, circa 1615–1620
Where object was made: Italy
Material/technique: canvas; oil
Dimensions:
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 204.5 x 166.4 cm
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 80 1/2 x 65 1/2 in
Frame Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 100 x 86 in
Credit line: Museum purchase
Accession number: 1959.0036
Not on display
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Images

Label texts

In the Book of Genesis, God commands Abraham to “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah [and] sacrifice him there.” Abraham was obedient to God’s will, however just before he was about to take his son’s life, an angel appeared and stayed his hand, commending Abraham for his loyalty. This large painting by Florentine artist Jacopo da Empoli captures this tense moment. Through the influence of Venetian artists, Florentine painters developed a freer, more painterly technique that was sensitive to the treatment of light and shade. Empoli presents The Sacrifice of Isaac with studied observation of the body, using realistic colors, and posing figures believably.

Exhibition Label:
"Corpus," Apr-2012, Kris Ercums
In the Book of Genesis, God commands Abraham to “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah [and] sacrifice him there.” Abraham was obedient to God’s will, however just before he was about to take his son’s life, an angel appeared and stayed his hand, commending Abraham for his loyalty. This large painting by Florentine artist Jacopo da Empoli captures this tense moment. Through the influence of Venetian artists, Florentine painters developed a freer, more painterly technique that was sensitive to the treatment of light and shade. Empoli presents The Sacrifice of Isaac with studied observation of the body, using realistic colors, and posing figures believably.

Archive Label 2003:
In the story of the sacrifice of Isaac, taken from the Old Testament, God tested Abraham’s obedience by commanding him to make a sacrifice of his son Isaac. Just as Abraham was about to take his son’s life, an angel appeared and stopped him, commending Abraham for his demonstrated obedience.
Jacopo da Empoli presents The Sacrifice of Isaac in a straightforward manner, using realistic colors, posing the figures comfortably, and giving them plenty of space. This unexceptional naturalism was revolutionary at the time Jacopo worked, when painted figures were often idealized and stylized to the degree that they looked completely unnatural.

Archive Label:
In the Old Testament story, God ordered Abraham to make a sacrifice of his son Isaac. Abraham did as he was instructed, proving his obedience, but just as he was about to kill Isaac, an angel appeared and stopped him, revealing God’s love.
Jacopo da Empoli presents The Sacrifice of Isaac in a straightforward manner, using natural colors, posing the figures comfortably and giving them plenty of space. This unexceptional naturalism was revolutionary at the time Jacopo worked, when painted figures had been idealized and stylized to the degree that they looked completely unnatural.
This is a second version of this painting; the other is located in the Chapel of the Sacrament in the church of San Marco in Florence. A small sketch for the Sacrifice is in the Uffizi, Florence, where it is paired with another subject by Empoli, The Drunkenness of Noah.

Archive Label:
This painting is a good example of Renaissance aesthetic principles; that is, the triad of colors, the treatment of the drapery, the compositional balance and other formal characteristics. There is a copy of this painting in San Marco, Florence, the Uffizi Gallery has a sketch of the painting, and the Pitti Palace has the pendant, all of which give this work some standing.
The frame is one of about five original frames on artworks in the Spencer collection. It is an excellent example of a center and corner frame, with pearls at the site edge, and hand-carved ornaments in the centers and corners of the panel, which is not gilded, but brushed with an ochre wash. Further ornament includes a bead and ribbon mouding and on the outside edge, ribbon wound around a stick.

Exhibitions

Corpus - Project Redefine: Phase 2
Kris Ercums, curator
2012–2015
The Object Speaks
Cassandra Mesick Braun, curator
Kate Meyer, curator
Celka Straughn, curator
2016–2021
From the Collection of the University of Kansas
1971

Resources

Audio

Didactic – Art Minute
Didactic – Art Minute
I’m David Cateforis with another art minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. A large painting in the museum’s collection depicts The Sacrifice of Isaac. In this episode from the book of Genesis, God tests the obedience of the Hebrew patriarch Abraham by ordering him to sacrifice his son. In the painting, the white bearded Abraham, dressed in rich clothing, stands over his kneeling, bound, son Isaac, who is nude except for a loincloth. Abraham raises a knife and prepares to kill Isaac, but his hand is stayed at the last minute by an angel who rushes in from above. Dimly visible in the bushes behind Isaac is a ram, sent by God for Abraham to sacrifice instead, since he has proven his obedience. The Spencer’s painting is the work of Jacopo da Empoli, an Italian who painted many altarpieces for churches in Florence and Tuscany in the early 17th century, and who worked in a powerfully realistic style that must have made his subjects seem vividly real to the faithful. Christians interpret the Sacrifice of Isaac as a prediction of God’s sacrifice of his son Jesus on the Cross, while Jews, Christians, and Moslems alike honor Abraham as the founding patriarch of their religions. From the Spencer Museum of Art, I’m David Cateforis.
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