Akeidat Yitzchak in Art/0/en

Akeidat Yitzchak in Art

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Overview

It is not surprising that Akeidat Yitzchak, a story replete with religious significance, emotional turmoil, and dramatic appeal is a favorite subject among artists.  The three renderings shown here, the painting by Caravaggio,¹ the mosaic from the Beit Alfa Synagogue² and the work by of Paolo Veronese³ all depict the climax of the story, when Avraham's sacrifice is interrupted by the angel.  The paintings evoke very different emotions in the viewer as the artists differ greatly in their portrayals of each of the main characters, including Avraham, Yitzchak, the angel and ram.

Contrasting Images

Carravagio

Carravagio's painting is the most graphic of the three, filled with both pathos and horror.

Beit Alfa Mosaic

Veronese

Relationship to the Biblical Text

The artists' choices reflect certain ambiguities in the Biblical text and different possible interpretive stances:

Yitzchak's Age

While the mosaic depicts Yitzchak as a young child, Caravaggio renders him as a teenager, and Veronese portrays him as a young adult.  Which is closer to the Biblical text? The episode is not dated making it impossible to know with certainty.  The opening of the chapter, "וַיְהִי אַחַר הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה" might connect it to the previous one in which Yitzchak is born and weaned, setting Yitzchak as little more than a toddler.  Others,⁴ however, prefer to connect the story to that which follows, the death of Sarah, making Yitzchak thirty seven.  Ibn EzraBereshit First Commentary 22:6About R. Avraham ibn Ezra takes a middle position, suggesting that he was a teenager.⁵  The ramifications of the different suggestions are significant.  Was Yitzchak an active partner in the test?  How aware was he of what was taking place?  Could he resist?

The Altar

The altar in the mosaic is a fairly simple structure, sharply contrasting with the shrine painted by Veronese. The latter suggests that the site of the sacrifice had previous religious significance. Is this true of Mt. Moriah?  Was there a history of sacrificial worship at the site, and perhaps even an entire sanctuary? Rambam, following Chazal, suggests that the altar "built" by Avraham was the same one used before by Adam, Kayin and Hevel, and Noach.  The site had holiness from the very beginning of creation, and was later to continue that tradition of holiness when the Mikdash was built. See Choice of Yerushalayim for how this suggestion plays into different understandings of why Yerushalayim was chosen as David's capital city.

Yitzchak: a Willing Participant?

While Veronese sets Yitzchak in a submissive pose, as if he is the midst of prayer, Caravaggio's Yitzchak is a mask of horror. what was Yitzchak feeling throughout the episode? Was he a willing sacrifice, viewing the act as the ultimate show of devotion, or was he acted upon against his will?  How did he relate to Avraham when he realized that he was the one his father intended to slaughter?  

Witnesses to the Event While there are no bystanders present in Caravaggio's rendering of the episode, Veronese paints a man standing with a donkey in the foreground of his work.  Presumably, he is meant to be one of the two servants who accompanied Avraham and Yitzchak.  According to the Biblical text, however, these youths did not follow Avraham all the way to the site of the sacrifice.  The choice to nonetheless include him raises an interesting question regarding the story: Were there any witnesses to the event? This relates to the larger question of the purpose of the whole trial: was it intended for Avraham alone, or did it contain a message for the outside world as well? See

The Binding of Isaac? Though the story is often referred to as the "binding of Isaac" none of these artists choose to portray Yitzchak as being bound  at all. The omission makes one question what about the binding was deemed as so crucial to the story that it is always called "the akeidah".  Interestingly, the verb עקד only appears once in Tanakh, making the very definition of the word questionable!

"וְהִנֵּה אַיִל אַחַר נֶאֱחַז בַּסְּבַךְ" While Veronese depicts the ram as hiding in the bramble, the mosaic has him tied to a tree, standing on his hind legs. Is there any support for this latter portrayal? Interestingly, in Akkadian "איל אחר" means a ram which is standing on it hind legs. More likely, 

¹ Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571 – 1610) was an Italian artist, known for his dramatic use of lighting (chiaroscuro).  He had a major influence on other Baroque painters.  The painting is currently housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

² Beit Alfa is a sixth-century synagogue located near Beit She'an in Israel. Its mosaic of the akeidah is the earliest representation of the subject found in Israel. One of the Greek inscriptions in the synagogue names Marianos and his son Chanina as the artists.  The mosaic contains Jewish, pagan, and Christian influences.

³ Paolo Veronese, or, Paolo Caliari (1528–1588), was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, known for his use of color and brushwork.  The painting can be found in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Austria.

⁴ See Seder Olam Rabbah.

⁵ He rejects the toddler position due to the fact that Yitzchak carries the wood for the sacrifice, and opposes the adult position since if Yitzchak had been a knowing sacrifice, he should have been the one rewarded rather than Avraham.