Abraham Caressing Isaac

Abraham Caressing Isaac by Rembrandt van Rijn, executed in 1637, is a profound example of the artist’s mastery in printmaking. Created as an etching, this piece dates precisely within the Dutch period of 1601 to 1650, when Rijn was rapidly establishing his reputation as the preeminent printmaker in the Netherlands. The print is currently housed in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

The subject depicts the tender moment following the near-sacrifice of Isaac, a biblical scene often referenced as the Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22). Rather than focusing on the dramatic tension of the angel's intervention, Rijn chose to capture the quiet, internalized emotion of the father comforting his son. This focus on intimate, human experience over grand religious spectacle typifies much of Dutch narrative art from this era. The dense lines, achieved through the etching process, allow Rijn to skillfully define volumes and create intense contrasts between light and shadow. The artist uses deep cross-hatching to surround the figures in deep shade, highlighting the faces and the central, delicate embrace.

As a highly sought-after artist during his lifetime and beyond, Rijn's prolific output of prints ensured wide dissemination of his artistry. The inherent reproducibility and quality achievable in this medium established him as a technical draftsman. Today, as a historic artwork dating from 1637, this image is generally considered part of the public domain, allowing institutions and scholars worldwide to study the technical nuances of this specific work. This remarkable etching remains a cornerstone of the National Gallery of Art's holdings of seventeenth-century Dutch masterworks.