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The Sacrifice of Isaac
About the Artwork
In this dramatic test of faith from the Old Testament book of Genesis, Abraham agrees to slay his son Isaac on God’s command. As Abraham raises the knife, an angel suddenly appears to halt the sacrifice. This work gains its power from the complex expressions of father and son, combining grief, strength, resignation, fear, and realization in their faces and bodies, the latter inspired by ancient sculpture and Michelangelo. Andrea del Sarto never finished this painting, and it lays bare his working methods. He transferred the design to the panel from a drawing, reinforcing the chalk with painted lines—best seen in the donkey at the far right. He then worked over the whole panel at once with thin, brushy veils of color, letting him alter the composition while painting—especially evident in the angel, Isaac’s body, and Abraham’s head.
Exhibition history
The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936). The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941). Art and Humanism in the Renaissance. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 23-February 25, 1962). Leonardo, Michelangelo and the Renaissance in Florence. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ont.,, Canada (organizer) (May 27-September 5, 2005). Masterpieces of European Painting from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Frick Collection, New York, NY (organizer) (November 8, 2006-January 28, 2007). Masterpieces of European Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Beachwood, OH (March 29-July 8, 2007). Andrea del Sarto: The Renaissance Workshop in Action. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (organizer) (June 23-September 13, 2015). Pier Francesco Foschi (1502-1567) Florentine Painter. Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze, Florence, Italy (organizer) (November 27, 2023-March 10, 2024) https://www.galleriaaccademiafirenze.it/en/expositions/pier-francesco-foschi-1502-1567-pittore-fiorentino/.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Andrea del Sarto (Italian, 1486–1530)
- Date
- c. 1527
- Medium
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- Framed: 208 x 171 x 12.5 cm (81 7/8 x 67 5/16 x 4 15/16 in.); Unframed: 178 x 138 cm (70 1/16 x 54 5/16 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Delia E. Holden and L. E. Holden Funds
- Accession no.
- 1937.577
Provenance
By 1649: Cardinal Carlo de' Medici, Florence Possibly the Montalvi Collection, Florence Possibly the Peruzzi Collection, Florence By 1829: Zondadari Collection, Florence 1846 - 1858: William Cave, died 1858 (Brentry House, near Bristol, bought in Florence in 1846), by inheritance to his wife. 1858: Mrs. William Cave 1858: Sold, Christie's, London, June 22, 1858, lot 102 1858 - 1882: Possibly Peters 1882 - ?: George Cornwall Legh, High Legh, Co. Chester ? - 1935: Lieutenant Colonel Henry Cornwall Legh, High Legh, Co. Chester 1935: Sold at Sotheby's, London, May 21, 1935, to Spencer Samuels 1935 - 1937: Spencer Samuels, T. Harris, London, and Durlacher Brothers, New York 1937 -: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
More by Andrea del Sarto in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 7, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00000248
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