Abraham’s Sacrifice

Artist: Rembrandt van Rijn, Dutch, 1606–1669
Date: 1655
Material: Etching and drypoint on vellum
made in: Amsterdam, Noord-Holland province, Netherlands, Europe
Classification: Prints
Collection: Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
Current Location: Not on view
Dimensions: plate: 5 7/8 × 4 15/16 in. (14.9 × 12.5 cm)
sheet: 5 15/16 in. × 5 in. (15.1 × 12.7 cm)
framed: 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm)
framed (lender's frame for exhibition 2017): 20 1/8 × 16 1/8 in. (51.1 × 41 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mark Steinberg Weil and Phoebe Dent Weil
Rights: Public Domain
Object Number: 241:2021

NOTES

This etching was printed on vellum, the treated skin of a cow or sheep that was used before the invention of paper. Vellum is stiffer and less absorbent than paper, so the ink sits on the surface and creates a different range of effects. In this impression, the plate slipped slightly in the area of the angel’s wings, a “mistake” that nonetheless adds a sensation of movement. This intensifies the moment Rembrandt van Rijn chose to depict, when Abraham’s hand was stopped in the instant he was about to sacrifice his son, Isaac.

Back to search

We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.