Tygorn
Magistrate
Ave,
I presume many of you know from religous education at school the biblical (old testament) story of Isaac, the son of Abraham.
According to mythology the story went as follows: as a youth he went with his father Abraham on mount Moria to bring God a sacrifice. After a
while he wondered where the animal is that should be sacrificed - to realize that HE should be the victim to be sacrificed, or, to be honest,
to get slaughtered and burnt, since that was basically what had to happen. God has "ordered" Abraham to bring his own son as a sacrifice.
The bible does obviously not elaborate on details, only that he was "prepared" (stripped and bound presumably) for sacrifice, but in the last
moment before Abraham wants to kill him with his knife, an angel interfered and prevented the sacrifice and provided a goat as a subsitute
sacrifice.
That leaves much room for speculation. Did young Isaac really "agree" to get sacrificed? Did he obey his father leading to (possible) death?
Was he afraid, shocked? Did he resist or was he reluctant about the prospect getting slaughtered and burnt?
So, where is the connection to crucifixion here?
Theology says, that this event was the "role model" for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross almost 2000 years later, Abraham playing the role
of "God" sacrificing his son and Isaac taking the place of Jesus. But Isaac was not the "Son of God", only an innocent youth at this time.
How do I come to this topic? On a recent "culture trip" I got the opportunity to watch a lot of classic art representing this famous bible
story. I was surprised how many artists did try to render this scene under different aspects, psychologically and regarding the characters -
and I noticed a strong "religion-induced S/M connection" (similar to crucifixion) which did motivate me to post this. Please forgive me, if
you are not interested.
First, the portrayal of Abraham is usually not that one of a good, loving and caring father - in many portrayals the "sacrifice" of Isaac
looks more like an execution with his father as the executioner, a somehow fanatical, merciless "executioner of Gods will", if you may say so.
On the other hand it seemed to me that young Isaac is often being already portrayed as a "young Jesus" in appearance, he has often longer hair
than you might presume for a boy, in the sacrifice scene he is usually barefoot and stripped down to his loincloth, sometimes even being
completely naked, resembling the Jesus character in crucifixion depictions with a slender, skinny and youthful body, too. He is often bound
(S/M reference to "religon-induced bondage") hands behind his back or in front of him. myth also tells, that he had to carry the wood for the
burning on his back himself (before he became aware that he is the victim) resembling the carrying of the cross(beam) by Jesus. Some pictures
even show Isaac in a crucified-like position with arms stretched out and bound to poles at the sacrifice position.
But the most interesting aspect is in my opinion how the artists did handle the myth that Issac (like Jesus) did simply obey his father
regarding getting "sacrificed"(killed) - in most depiction this is being negated, speculating that Isaac did not want to die due to his "human
nature". Sure, what expected him, may be not as horrible as being crucified, but bad enough, getting slaughtered and burnt like an animal by
his own father.
Thats the reason, why (by far) my favorite depiction is by Dutch master Jan Lievens (the last one in the attatched selection) , because he did not show the scene when the angel interferes like 99% of the other classic paintings, but what happened before: Young Isaac had been stripped and is now being led to the pile of wood where the "sacrifice" shall take place. But he seems somehow reluctant, so his father forces him down with firm grip at his right arm, unsure if his son may not resist his cruel fate. Isaac, staring at his father with a pleading gaze, full of fear, desperation and horror, pleads for his life one last time: Why me? Its me, Isaac, your son. But his merciless father, pointing to heaven, only responds: Because it is HIS will we have to obey.
Its basically Isaacs "Gethsemane"-moment, resembling the crucifixion story once again.
The facial expression of the both characters is so masterful, its incredible, so heart-breaking cruel and moving at the same time - and Isaacs
body is very nice, too... I have to admit ;-) For me thats one of the greatest bible-story classic art (with S/M-touch) ever created. A true
masterpiece. (If you are interested in this picture as much as I am you can download a really huge, 55 mb big, professional JPG replica in
incredible resolution of 7246 x 9199 at the Dallas museum homepage, then you can watch details especially about the faces showing how
fantastic this work really is)
Sorry for the long text but I wanted to share my thoughts with an audience which may appreciate it. Thank you for your attention.
best regards
Ty.
I presume many of you know from religous education at school the biblical (old testament) story of Isaac, the son of Abraham.
According to mythology the story went as follows: as a youth he went with his father Abraham on mount Moria to bring God a sacrifice. After a
while he wondered where the animal is that should be sacrificed - to realize that HE should be the victim to be sacrificed, or, to be honest,
to get slaughtered and burnt, since that was basically what had to happen. God has "ordered" Abraham to bring his own son as a sacrifice.
The bible does obviously not elaborate on details, only that he was "prepared" (stripped and bound presumably) for sacrifice, but in the last
moment before Abraham wants to kill him with his knife, an angel interfered and prevented the sacrifice and provided a goat as a subsitute
sacrifice.
That leaves much room for speculation. Did young Isaac really "agree" to get sacrificed? Did he obey his father leading to (possible) death?
Was he afraid, shocked? Did he resist or was he reluctant about the prospect getting slaughtered and burnt?
So, where is the connection to crucifixion here?
Theology says, that this event was the "role model" for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross almost 2000 years later, Abraham playing the role
of "God" sacrificing his son and Isaac taking the place of Jesus. But Isaac was not the "Son of God", only an innocent youth at this time.
How do I come to this topic? On a recent "culture trip" I got the opportunity to watch a lot of classic art representing this famous bible
story. I was surprised how many artists did try to render this scene under different aspects, psychologically and regarding the characters -
and I noticed a strong "religion-induced S/M connection" (similar to crucifixion) which did motivate me to post this. Please forgive me, if
you are not interested.
First, the portrayal of Abraham is usually not that one of a good, loving and caring father - in many portrayals the "sacrifice" of Isaac
looks more like an execution with his father as the executioner, a somehow fanatical, merciless "executioner of Gods will", if you may say so.
On the other hand it seemed to me that young Isaac is often being already portrayed as a "young Jesus" in appearance, he has often longer hair
than you might presume for a boy, in the sacrifice scene he is usually barefoot and stripped down to his loincloth, sometimes even being
completely naked, resembling the Jesus character in crucifixion depictions with a slender, skinny and youthful body, too. He is often bound
(S/M reference to "religon-induced bondage") hands behind his back or in front of him. myth also tells, that he had to carry the wood for the
burning on his back himself (before he became aware that he is the victim) resembling the carrying of the cross(beam) by Jesus. Some pictures
even show Isaac in a crucified-like position with arms stretched out and bound to poles at the sacrifice position.
But the most interesting aspect is in my opinion how the artists did handle the myth that Issac (like Jesus) did simply obey his father
regarding getting "sacrificed"(killed) - in most depiction this is being negated, speculating that Isaac did not want to die due to his "human
nature". Sure, what expected him, may be not as horrible as being crucified, but bad enough, getting slaughtered and burnt like an animal by
his own father.
Thats the reason, why (by far) my favorite depiction is by Dutch master Jan Lievens (the last one in the attatched selection) , because he did not show the scene when the angel interferes like 99% of the other classic paintings, but what happened before: Young Isaac had been stripped and is now being led to the pile of wood where the "sacrifice" shall take place. But he seems somehow reluctant, so his father forces him down with firm grip at his right arm, unsure if his son may not resist his cruel fate. Isaac, staring at his father with a pleading gaze, full of fear, desperation and horror, pleads for his life one last time: Why me? Its me, Isaac, your son. But his merciless father, pointing to heaven, only responds: Because it is HIS will we have to obey.
Its basically Isaacs "Gethsemane"-moment, resembling the crucifixion story once again.
The facial expression of the both characters is so masterful, its incredible, so heart-breaking cruel and moving at the same time - and Isaacs
body is very nice, too... I have to admit ;-) For me thats one of the greatest bible-story classic art (with S/M-touch) ever created. A true
masterpiece. (If you are interested in this picture as much as I am you can download a really huge, 55 mb big, professional JPG replica in
incredible resolution of 7246 x 9199 at the Dallas museum homepage, then you can watch details especially about the faces showing how
fantastic this work really is)
Sorry for the long text but I wanted to share my thoughts with an audience which may appreciate it. Thank you for your attention.
best regards
Ty.
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