Artwork Depicting Scenes from Abraham's Life


Marc Chagall, Abraham Slaying Isaac
Marc Chagall (Russian-born French painter, 1887-1985), "Abraham Slaying Isaac," Huile sur toile, 230 X 235 cm. Larger image.
There's a rich body of paintings surrounding Abraham's life, though they tend to focus on a very few incidents:
  • The sacrifice of Isaac (most popular because of its obvious drama)
  • Meeting Melchizedek
  • Entertaining the three angels
  • Hagar in the desert

with a few other scattered incidents. I enjoy fine art and hope this collection interests you too. These are in no particular order. See also: Portraits of Jesus Christ and Artwork of the Apostle Paul.


David Smira, Abraham's Devotion to God I (Abraham sacrificing Isaac, contemporary).

Caravaggio (1573-1610), The Sacrifice of Isaac, Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Bouts, Dieric the Elder (1415-1475), The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek (1464-67), oil on wood, Sint-Pieterskerk, Leuven.

Abraham Sacrificing Isaac (Chinese)

Loggia di Raffaello

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Lot and His Daughters (1496/1499), oil on panel, 52.4 x 42.2 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669)

Boruch Nachson (contemporary Israeli artist), Avraham Welcoming the Three Angels (acrylic on canvas).

Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530, Florentine artist), The Sacrifice of Abraham (poplar, 213x159 cm, Gemäldegalerie, Dresden)

Petrus-Paulus Rubens (1577-1640), 

North wall, mosaic, San Vitale in Ravenna, left side angels announce to Abraham that Sarah will bear a son. Right side shows sacrifice of Isaac.

Abraham calling out to God before sacrificing Isaac. Artist unknown.

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Italian Artist, 1669-1770)

Donatello, Sacrifice of Isaac, statue, Duomo, Florence

Brunelleschi, panel, Abraham sacrifices Isaac, Baptistery door, Florence.

Adriaen van der Werff, (Dutch Baroque painter, 1659-1722)

Stomer, Sarah Menant Agar A Abraham, Chantilly

Philip van Dyck (Dutch painter, 1680-1753), Sarah présente Agar comme seconde épouse à Abraham, Abraham renvoyant Agar et Ismaël (1708), H. : 0,50 m. ; L. : 0,41 m., Lourve

Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari (Italian painter, 1654-1727), Agar et l'ange, Vers 1705, H. : 1,11 m. ; L. : 0,86 m., Lourve

Pierre Courteys, Plaque : Le Sacrifice d'Abraham, 2e moitié du XVIe siècle, Limoges, Émail peint sur cuivre, H. : 15,20 cm. ; L. : 13 cm., Lourve

Abraham and Isaac, stained glass panel, (c.1485) from the south clerestory (window K) of the Great Malvern Priory, Worchestere.

Abraham Leaving Ur: Faith, Tiffany windows (1890s) designed by J.A. Holzer. Church of the Covenant, Boston, MA.

The Covenant with Abraham, stained glass window. Whatley Chapel, University of Denver, north garden window.

Several sepia pictures of Abraham's life, no artist given.

Marc Chagall à Nice

Károly Ferenczy, Isaac's Sacrifice (Sacrifice of Abraham, 1901), Oil on canvas, 143,5 x 167,4 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

Laurent de La Hire (French artist, 1606-1656), Abraham Sacrificing Isaac (1650); Musee Saint-Denis, Reims

John Martin, The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, BBC

Gustave Doré (French illustrator, 1832-1883), black and white illustrations

Danish Church Art.

William Blake (ca. 1820), Abraham and Isaac

Alfred Hallett (1914-1986), Abraham Sacrificing Isaac

Biblical Art on the Internet. Links to pictures of Hagar, Second Trip

Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937),

Altar Windows of Sacrifice, St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, Louisville, KY

Melchizedek, Abraham, and Isaac, Jambs statues, left side of central portal, Chartes Cathedral (1205-1240) Melchizedek is on the left carrying a censer and cup of wine. To his right is Abraham with a knife in his right hand, his left hand at bound Isaac's neck.

Stained glass windows, Vocation d’Abraham, Bénédiction d’Abraham par Melchisédech, and Sacrifice d’Isaac, Cathédrale de Joliette, Canada

Abraham and Isaac, stained glass window, Christ Church, Pompton Lakes, NJ

Links to pictures of Abraham's sacrifice, France

Enluminure 15, Greece, Abraham's Sacrifice, Monastery Slavoniketa
Dughut, England, Landscape With Abraham And Isaac, London Ng
Domenichino,16, Italy, Le Sacrifice D'isaac, Madrid
Catacombe Priscilla, 04, Italy, The Sacrifice Of Abraham

Bill Burg, Abraham and Isaac, oil on panel, 1998, 18" X 24"

Capitals of cathedral columns. Saint Georges de Boscherville, chapiteau de la salle capitulaire, Dieu ordonne à Sarah et Abraham de partir pour Canaan. Sacrifice d'Isaac, ébrasement du portail de Saint Servais, à Maastricht (gauche) et chapiteau de Autun (droite)

Sacrifice of Isaac, unknown artist.

Claude Lorrain (French painter, 1600-1682), The Departure of Hagar and Ishmael (1668), Oil on canvas, Alte Pinakothek, Munich

Khatchatur, Gospel Book: The Sacrifice of Isaac, 1455, Greater Armenia, Lake Van region, active mid-fifteenth century, Vellum, 10 13/16 x 7 1/16ins (27.5 x 18 cm). The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, MD

Clipart, BW images of scenes from Abraham's Life.

Surroundings Shut Cornelis (1597-1655), Abraham and Isaac, Oil on canvas
Size: 102 x 87

Abraham e Isaac. Salterio de San Luis, siglo XIII (Biblioteca Nacional, París)

Capital 57. The Sacrifice of Isaac. The capitals and square pillars seem to be original, but during the time of Abbot Bertrand de Montaigu (1260-1293), Moissac

Very rare oak group of Abraham and Isaac (High 21 Cm). From an altarpiece. Netherlands about 1520. Bruno Speybrouck, Kortrijk, België

Phillip Ratner, Ratner Bible, illustrations include: Lot's Wife, Abraham and the Angels, the Birth of Isaac, the Binding of Isaac, and a striking drawing of Abraham and Isaac. Dennis & Phillip Ratner Museum, Bethesda, MD

Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455), bas relief, Abraham and Isaac (1401), Calimala (Cloth Dealer’s Guild) goldsmiths in Silk Guild

Baciccio (Giovanni Battista Gaulli, 1639-1709, Italian), Abraham's Sacrifice of Isaac (1685-90), Oil on canvas, 160.7 x 131.1 cm (63-1/4 x 51-5/8 in ), High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA

Pieter Coeck van Aelst, Abraham's Sacrifice of Isaac, painted oak statue, 1502-1555, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Detail.

Abraham's Offering by Jan Lievens (Dutch painter, 1607-1674), Herzog Anton-Ulrich Museum, Germany. Moving picture of Abraham embracing Isaac after the angel stopped the sacrifice.

Meridian Magazine, unknown artist, Abraham Viewing the Stars.

Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (German painter, 1794-1872)

Contemporary painting, artist unknown, Abraham Looking Up at the Stars

Icon Righteous Abraham Forefather, Orthodox Church in America

Pieter Jozef Verhaghen (Flemish painter, 1728-1811), Hagar and Ishmael Banished by Abraham (1781), Oil on canvas, 168 x 195 cm, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp

Georg Pencz (German 1500-50), Abraham Entertaining Angels, 16th century engraving, 2 x 3.25 inches

Karel Dujardin (Dutch Painter, 1622-1678), Hagar and Ishmael in the Wilderness (c. 1662), Oil on canvas, Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota

Frederick Goodall (1822-1904)

Nicolas Poussin (French Painter, 1594-1665)

Jan PROVOST ? (1465-1529), Abraham, Sarah et l'ange, H. : 0,71 m. ; L. : 0,58 m., Lourve

Edmonia Lewis, Hagar, carved 1875, marble statue, 52 5/8 x 15 1/4 x 14 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum

Richard McBee (1947- ), contemporary artist, New York City

  • Abraham Praying (1996), Ink & Gouache (10 ¾ x 14)
  • Sarah's Fear (1999), Pen & Ink
  • Sarah, Abraham, & The Strangers (2000), Monotype (12 x 12)
  • Abraham and Sarah and the Guests - 12" X 12" (2000)
  • Sarah and the Three Angels - 16" X 20", Oil and collage
  • Abraham Leaves Isaac - 12" X 12", Monoprint

Unknown artist, Hagar and the Angel, Cardiff

Unknown artist, paintings of Hagar in the Wilderness and Abraham Sacrificing Isaac

Unknown artist, Abraham Emigrating to Canaan, contemporary

Orna Ben-Shoshan (contemporary Israeli artist)

  • Hagar, with angel filling water containers in the desert
  • Abraham with the three angels

Bartsius, Father Abraham Pleading with Sarah, Getty Museum

Maurice Lamouroux, The Illustrated Bible, has links to many great works on Abraham and other Bible characters.

Abraham Bloemaert and workshop, Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael, Dutch,1638, Oil on canvas, 57 3/4 x 71 in., Getty Museum

François Boucher (French painter, 1703-1770), Rébecca recevant des mains d'Eliezer les présents d'Abraham, Avant 1727, H. : 0,46 m. ; L. : 0,37 m., Lourve

Gérard de Lairesse (1641-1711), Abraham recevant les trois anges du Seigneur qui vont lui annoncer la prochaine naissance de son fils Isaac, H. : 1,20 m. ; L. : 1,64 m., Lourve

Pierre Reymond, Plate : Abraham refuse les présents du roi de Sodome (Vers 1575), Limoges, Émail peint sur cuivre, H. : 38,90 cm. ; L. : 50,10 cm., Lourve

Martin, John (English painter, 1789-1854), Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, 1852, the Laing Gallary. 

James Jacques Joseph Tissot (French painter and illustrator, 1836-1902)

Melchizedek

Abraham Christian art from the Catacombs

Christian Art and Paintings: Abraham Art | Agnus Dei Art | Angel Art | Annunciation Art | Celtic Stone Cross Art | Christian Symbols and Art | Christmas Art | DavidEaster Art | Elijah | Passion of Christ by Tissot | Gideon | Hebrew-Jewish Art | Holy Week Art | Jacob | Jesus' Ministry Art | Jesus' Teaching Art | Jesus Portraits and Art | John the Baptist | John the Apostle | Lamb of God Art | Last Supper Art | Madonna & Child Art | Moses and the Exodus | Names of God Art | OT Misc Art | Psalms Art | Palm Sunday Art | Paul Art and Paintings | Day of Pentecost Art | Peter Art and Paintings | Prayer Art | Resurrection Art | Revelation Art | Solomon |Thanksgiving and Pilgrims Art | Timothy Art and Paintings
Copyright of artwork. Much, but not all, of the artwork linked to on this site is in the public domain worldwide due to the date of death of its author (if it is was published outside of the U.S. and the author has been dead for over 70 years), or due to its date of publication (if it was first made public in the U.S. before 1923), at least in the United States (see Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.), in Germany, and in many other countries.

Copyright © 2024, Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor@joyfulheart.com> All rights reserved. A single copy of this article is free. Do not put this on a website. See legal, copyright, and reprint information.

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