Rembrandt, "Abraham and Isaac"
Pietro Berettini da Cortona, "The Return of Hagar"
In your opinion, which of these two images best depicts one of the stories you read in the Bible as/in Lit story about Abraham? Why? Explain to me how the artist succeeds at bringing to life your image of what happened in the story. What is the relationship between these two paintings? Between Hagar's story and Abraham's test from God with regard to Isaac?
I think Rembrant's "Abraham and Isaac" is the best depiction of one of the stories in the Bible as/in Literature about Abraham because Abraham was extremely close to killing Isaac before he was stopped. This image is how I pictured this scene as I was reading it. The artist succeeds in bringing this image to life with the story because it has a dark aura surrounding the main characters because Abraham is performing a darker act when he almost kills his son. The relationship between the two paintings is that Abraham and an angel are in them both and they are both related to Abraham. Isaac is central to both of the stories. When Abraham is about to sacrifice him his role is that of the sacrifice and Abraham casts out Hagar to preserve all the land for Isaac.
ReplyDeleteof the two images I think the first ("Abraham and Isaac") depicts a story about Abraham best. As soon as you see the picture you connect it to Abraham about to offer up his son but an angel stopping him. In the other however you have to think a little more about what's happening. In " The Return of Hagar" you can see Abraham sending Hagar away and she is begging to not be sent into the desert but an angel is with her and she will be protected. Her son is not in the picture but you can see the small pack of bread abraham gives to her, lying on the ground. I agree with Trevin that it is brought to life by the darkness surrounding the painting by Rembrandt. The relationship is that both of the scenes have to do with an act Abraham did inspired by God. In the first, God tells Abraham to offer his son as a burnt offering and in the second God tells him to do as his wife says and send Hagar and his son away. The stories are also similar by having to do with Abraham having to make a painful decision wether or not to obey god and him potentially hurting or killing his sons.
ReplyDeleteIm my opinion I think that Rembrandt's, "Abraham and Isaac" depicts the story of Abraham the best. It shows of when Abraham was going to offer his son but an angel of GOD stops him. I think it is the better image because you immediately know what is happening, and, like Presley said the second one you have to think about what is happening. Rembrandt brought the painting to life by having it dark, because the task that Abraham was about to do was dark in itself. The two painting are similar because both of the describe hard tasks that Abraham had to do because GOD said that it was best. And they both have to do with his sons. (Two different sons.)
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that the first painting, "Abraham and Isaac" best depicts the story of Abraham. The painting shows the moment in which an angel stops Abraham from offering his son as a sacrifice to God. The intensity of the moment is shown here by the use of dark colors and how the knife is flying out Abraham's hand which shows how quickly the angel stopped Abraham. The artist transmits the pain, suffering and drama going on in that very moment by how he drew the expression on each character's body. These two paintings are related because they show struggles in Abraham's life and moments when he had to make rough decisions. They both relate back to Abraham finally was able to have kids: one with Hagar and one with Sarah. Also, they both show how God intervened in Abraham's life through angels.
ReplyDeleteI think that the painting "Abraham and Isaac" by Rembrandt best depicts Abraham's story. I think the colors that the artist uses show that it is a sad event taking place, and the artist does this on purpose to share his feelings about the event. I think it is also to the point and clearly shows that is about to happen. I agree with Trevin when he says that the relationship is that both paintings center around Isaac. They also show how Abraham had to make desicions that could either help or harm Isaac, and how he went around obeying God's wishes.
ReplyDelete"The Return of Hagar" is a closer match to what I saw when reading "Ishmael is Born". I say this because it is only more accurate than the other painting."Abraham and Isaac" depicts an angel stopping Abraham from slaying his son mid-swing, while in the book it is implied that he is stopped before he even picks up his knife. The return of Hagar better depicts what I saw because it shows a cherub (representing the Lord) leading her back to Abraham so that he might bear a son. This 'divine presence' that moves Hagar is kinda what I pictured. The relationship between the two paintings is the fact that Abraham is doing these things because he fears the lord.
ReplyDeleteAs everyone else I also believe the painting "Abraham and Isaac" best describes the story. First of all, this painting shows in my opinion the overall importance of the story through the scene in the book. Not to mention the fact that without the title of the second painting, it would be more difficult to understand what is going on in the second painting. The first painting draws attention to how Abraham was about to sacrifice his son out of his devotion to god but, at the last moment an angel tells them not to do so. The similarity between the two would be that an angel and Abraham himself is in both of these paintings. They both come from the same story as well. I agree with Presley for the last question. Both stories had the situation in which Abraham endangered one of his sons in order to show "fear" (the definition from the bible as in literature) of god.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the first picture (Rembrant's "Abraham and Isaac") gives the best insight to the story. Abraham wanted a son more than anything. When Abraham is finally given a son, God asks him to offer Isaac up as a sacrifice. As a sign of his loyality to God, Abraham decides to do as God asks. He almost kills him; however, and angel come and stops him before the knife could touch him. I think that this event summaries this story well because I think that the story is about putting what God wants from you before everything else, even when it isn't what you want. The mood of the story is conveyed well by using a lot of dark colors that present an overtone that implies darkness. Even the way that Isaac looks so uncomfortable and scared make the drawing realistic. These two paintings obviously are both depictions of stories involving Abraham. In both, Abraham and an angel are present. On a deeper level, both paintings show some kind of deliverance. In the first, he is being told that he doesn't have to kill his son. In the second, he finds his mistress Hagar safe when she comes back. These are also the ways that the stories relate.
ReplyDeleteThe top picture Rembrandt, "Abraham and Isaac" because it shows how abraham tries to kill his son with a knife, and an angle comes down and stops his to say that he pasted the test. The test was to see if he trusted God, and would do anything for him. The dark colors in the painting show that it was a sad time, but he had to do it because God told him to. The relationship between the two paintings is that Abraham is in both of them, and it shows the things Abraham had to do because God told him to. It shows that Abraham is a man of God and would do anything that he asks, and do it well.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the first painting, "Abraham and Isaac" best depicts the story called "The Test." I believe this because the painting incorporates all of the characters and illustrates everything that happens in the story. The artist succeeds in bringing the image of what happened in the story to life because it includes all of the small aspects of the story. For example, in the story, it says that "Abraham built an altar there; he laid out the wood; he bound his son Isaac; he laid him on the altar, on top of the wood" (76). In the painting Isaac is lying on wood as well. The two stories are similar because they both deal with God having a large influence on the action's of Abraham. The relationship of the two paintings is that they both include the image of Abraham and the sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael.
ReplyDeleteI think, that out of the two pictures, that the first picture depicts Abraham the best. This is mainly because most people can very easily recognize that picture. If that picture of Abraham and Isaac, did not have a title, I would still know exactly what the picture is depicting. The artist succeeded in expressing the story through the art work because it is clearly shown that Abraham is about to cut Isaac, but the angel comes down, and tells him to stop, and that he passed his test. The test, overall, was to have total trust in God. The relationship between the two paintings is that both of them depict Abraham. Also, Isaac is depicted in each painting, as well.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion i think the first drawing (Abraham and Isaac) best depicts the story of Abraham and Isaac. This is because it is very clear and obvious as to what is going on in the painting. The artist made it very obvious that Abraham is about to kill his son and an angel descends from heaven and stops him. I also chose this one because this is exactly what I imagined when i read the story. The two paintings are alike because in both, Abraham is depicted along with the angel acting as a messenger for god. The relationship between the two stories is that Abraham has to trust in God and believe that god will do what is best for Abraham even when it deals with putting his sons in harms way.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Rembrandt's painting "Abraham and Isaac" explains the story of Abraham and Isaac much better that Pietro Berettini da Cortona "The Return of Hagar" does. The painting describes almost perfectly how i envisioned this interaction in my mind. Because the picture is depictig the climax i think this is a much better depiction. Also it is in the middle of the action so it is much more intense. They are similar because there is an angle involved in both as messengers.This is important because this shows that God is always guiding Abraham.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Rembrandt's painting "Abraham and Isaac" explains the story of Abraham and Isaac much better that Pietro Berettini da Cortona "The Return of Hagar" does. The painting describes almost perfectly how i envisioned this interaction in my mind. Because the picture is depictig the climax i think this is a much better depiction. Also it is in the middle of the action so it is much more intense. They are similar because there is an angle involved in both as messengers.This is important because this shows that God is always guiding Abraham.