Cleveland Museum of Art

The Sacrifice of Isaac

Francesco Guardi

Date

1750s

Medium

oil on canvas

Culture

Italy, 18th century

Department

European Painting and Sculpture

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This series of paintings primarily tells the Old Testament story of Abraham and Isaac, and each of the canvases depicts the interaction of humans and angels. In three works, angels appear to Abraham, and in one particularly dramatic canvas, an angel intercepts Abraham before he sacrifices his own son. Like another work in this series, Tobias and the Angels, the Sacrifice of Isaac is a narrative about fathers and sons as well as obedience inspired by faith.

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