Sacrifice of Isaac
Artist: Filippo Brunelleschi
1401-02
Relief
In 1401, the Florence Wool Guild, which oversaw the maintenance of the city's main Baptistery, set up a contest to design new ornamented bronze doors for the building. Each submission was to consist of a single bronze panel depicting the biblical story of Abraham, who was commanded by God to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, but was stopped at the last moment. Brunelleschi, then a goldsmith of about twenty-four, created a high-relief scene showing Abraham as a large, powerful man gripping Isaac (who kneels on an altar) by the throat with his left hand, and holding a dagger at the boy's throat with his right hand. An angel at the top left reaches out and grabs Abraham's hand the moment before the knife breaks the skin. To Isaac's left is a ram caught in a thicket by its horns (as described in the biblical passage), and at the bottom of the panel are two servants and a horse.
This bronze is housed in the National Museum of Bargello, Florence
Sacrifice of Isaac
Artist: Lorenzo Ghiberti
1401-02
Relief
Competitors for the 1401 commission of the new doors for the Florence baptistery were required to create a panel depicting the Old Testament story of Abraham´s sacrifice of his son, Isaac. In the story, God tells Abraham that he must sacrifice Isaac but at the moment he is poised to strike his son down with a knife, an angel appears to stop the fatal blow. Competitors were required to portray the scene and include the following elements within a quatrefoil form: Abraham, the donkey, the two male companions, the altar with wood and fire, Isaac, the intervening angel, and the ram.
This bronze is in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence
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