1266 - Adriaen van Stalbemt (1580 Antwerp – 1662, ibid.)

Adriaen van Stalbemt (1580 Antwerp – 1662, ibid.) The Sacrifice of Abraham (The Binding of Isaac) This panel painting depicts a well-known story from the Old Testament (Gen. 22:1–19), which is one of the most significant themes in Christian art. In this scene, God puts Abraham’s unconditional devotion, fear of God, and trust to a severe test: Abraham, who is about to sacrifice his own bound son Isaac—instead of a lamb—as a burnt offering on an altar he has built, at God’s command, and who is already holding his large, saber-like knife raised above his head, is stopped by the angel at the last moment. In the middle ground on the left side of the painting, Stalbemt simultaneously depicts the preceding events — Abraham has loaded the firewood for the burnt offering onto the unsuspecting Isaac (whom he keeps completely in the dark about where they are going and what is to happen), while he himself carries a pot of glowing coals and takes the knife in his hand. Here, the artist has staged the drama of the biblical story with great effect through dynamic physicality, the use of light, and the diagonal composition featuring the main figures prominently in the foreground, thereby succeeding in gripping the viewer. Stalbemt is one of the major masters associated with and following in the footsteps of Jan Brueghel the Elder, who served as his model. Unlike Brueghel, however, Stalbemt was not only a landscape painter but also a figure painter in his own right, developing a thoroughly independent and unmistakable style. This style often features faces depicted in three-quarter profile with pointed noses and slightly parted mouths. For the most part, he integrated the scenes and figures into his landscapes only as small-scale figurative elements. The present painting is one of the few examples in Stalbemt’s oeuvre in which the figures completely dominate the composition and the landscape serves merely as a backdrop. It was painted in the 1620s, as is evident from “the voluminous, Rubens-like style of the figures” (cited from Ertz). In 1610, Stalbemt had been admitted as a master to the Guild of St. Luke in his hometown of Antwerp, which he presided over as dean in 1618–19. His reputation reached as far as England, where he was active in London in 1633 and carried out commissions for King Charles I of England. Oil on oak panel. 66.4 cm x 68.2 cm. Framed. Included: Expert opinion by Dr. Klaus Ertz, Lingen, January 25, 2020. General literature: Klaus Ertz and Christa Nitze-Ertz: “Adriaen van Stalbemt (1580–1662): Critical Catalog of the Paintings (...)”, Lingen 2018. Oil on oak panel. Accompanied by an expert report by Dr. Klaus Ertz, January 25, 2020.