Isaac's Sacrifice
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InspirationSacrifice of Isaac. 1598, My inspiration for my piece was a bible story written in the book of Genesis 22:2-8. The Isaac's sacrifice is often regarded as the ultimate test from god. In the story, god commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. This was so that Abraham can prove to God that he loves God above all else. But when Abraham was moments from sacrificing his son, an angel called out to Abraham to stop him from harming the boy. The angel said that since Abraham feared the Lord enough to sacrifice his only son god will bless him along with his descendants. Then A ram appeared in which Abraham could sacrifice the animal instead of Isaac.
My other inspiration is the Baroque artist Michelangelo Meris da Caravaggio and both his pieces Abraham's and the sacrifice of his son Isaac (1603) and Sacrifice of Isaac (1598). In both these pieces the same biblical story of Abraham's sacrifice are depicted. Both of these pieces are very similar and utilize the elements of art in a very similar fashion, such as the dark background so that it can contrast with the illuminated fore ground elements. In both of these pieces have the same characters using very similar actions. Both have Abraham, knife in hand, ready to sacrifice Isaac, who is laying on the make-shift alter, the Angel who calls upon Abraham, and the ram who seems to appear out of no where. All of these elements I have included in my piece except for the ram. I did this mostly because I didn't want to distract the main features of my piece, which are the Angel, Abraham, and Isaac. |
da Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi. Abraham and the sacrifice of his son Isaac. 1603. Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
da Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi. Sacrifice of Isaac. 1598, Piasecka-Johnson Collection, New Jersey.
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Planning Sketches
For my first sketch I almost copied the position and the expression of Abraham and Isaac from my inspiration, but ultimately I chose not too due to it would make my piece too similar to Caravaggio's pieces. but I also wanted a sense of urgency coming from the angel. So I posed him still in mid flight reaching out to Abraham.
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For my second sketch, which is the one I used for my piece. I wanted the angel to have a calming affect to the piece to contrast with Abraham's and Isaac's despair of the situation god has put them in.
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Process
I first free hand copy the sketch from my notebook to the lino printmaking plate to the best of my ability. After copying the sketch, I use a carving tool with various different blades that allow me to carve from the minor details to the broadest details to my plate. I carve the block following the lines that I have drawn onto the block, also using a cutting block to protect the table from scratches and to protect my hands by allowing me to carve away from my body without moving the plate too much . I start with the minor details in Abraham's face using the V-shaped blade, cutting out thin but distinct lines to represent Abraham's wrinkled face. I also used the V-shaped blade to cut out the out lines of the forms of the angel, Abraham and Isaac. In order to represent the skin color of the characters and the background of the piece I used a semi-circular blade so I could carve out wider pieces of the plate.
After finishing carving out the block it's time to print. In the printing process I use a water soluble speed ball-block printing ink, newspaper sheet, ink tray, brayer, spoon, baren, and drawing paper. Using a sheet of newspaper layed down on the table to protect the table from staining. Then using the spoon I place globs of ink on to the ink tray. After, I use the brayer and roll up and down the ink tray. Then I roll the brayer on my plate giving the plate enough ink to print to the drawing paper. By placing a clean piece of drawing paper on top of the ink covered plate. Then using a baren I press the paper down making sure the ink sticks to the paper leaving the print on the paper. Then I pull the paper off the plate carefully. If the print didn't come out as perfect as expected apply the ink back on the plate and try again on a different paper. |
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Experimentation
When printing the plate, I found that some of the thin details did not show through the print. Such as the wrinkles in Abraham's robes, his face, and Isaac’s cloth. To fix this I had to go back to carving the plate making those details deeper.
Another problem I had in the printing process is that the ink would not print effectively onto the drawing paper. To fix this I added a little water to the ink, and then added a little extra |
Compare and contrast
Reflection
I chose to name my piece Isaac's Sacrifice because most people know it as Abraham's sacrifice when its Isaac who is giving his life up to god. In my piece the upper half of the piece is white, right behind the angel to represent the holiness and the calmness that he brings. This light contrast with Abraham's despair and the pure black that is behind him. The only other person that is not inked is Isaac to represent his purity in this act, also to show that hes done nothing wrong to deserve to be sacrificed. Over all in my piece I could have given the characters more expression on their faces and given more details to the cloths and bodies of the characters in my piece so I could make it as similar to the baroque style of art which is always rich with detail. Throughout the whole process of making the piece, the hardest part was carving out the minor details, especially in Abraham's face, but it only took a steady hand, time and patience.
ACT Questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
The cause effect relationship between my inspiration and my artwork is how I attempt to imitate the tone of my inspiration which is somber.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Caravaggio's approach to the biblical story of Abraham's sacrifice was to almost recreate the ending of the story with his artwork.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
The central theme of my inspiration, which is the biblical story of Abraham's sacrifice, was that you have to follow and trust good no matter what.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
The cause effect relationship between my inspiration and my artwork is how I attempt to imitate the tone of my inspiration which is somber.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Caravaggio's approach to the biblical story of Abraham's sacrifice was to almost recreate the ending of the story with his artwork.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
The central theme of my inspiration, which is the biblical story of Abraham's sacrifice, was that you have to follow and trust good no matter what.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Citations
BibleStudyTools staff. “Abraham and Isaac Bible Story - Verses & Scripture Meaning.” Bible Study Tools, Salem Web Network, 2017, www.biblestudytools.com/bible-stories/abraham-and-isaac-bible-story.html.
Revolvy, LLC. “‘Sacrifice of Isaac (Caravaggio)" on Revolvy.com.” Trivia Quizzes, www.revolvy.com/page/Sacrifice-of-Isaac- (Caravaggio).
“The Sacrifice of Isaac, 1602 by Caravaggio.” Caravaggio: 100 Famous Paintings Analysis and Biography, www.caravaggio.org/the- sacrifice-of-isaac.jsp.
Revolvy, LLC. “‘Sacrifice of Isaac (Caravaggio)" on Revolvy.com.” Trivia Quizzes, www.revolvy.com/page/Sacrifice-of-Isaac- (Caravaggio).
“The Sacrifice of Isaac, 1602 by Caravaggio.” Caravaggio: 100 Famous Paintings Analysis and Biography, www.caravaggio.org/the- sacrifice-of-isaac.jsp.