Caravaggio’s Interpretation of Genesis 22

The story of Abraham and the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22 is notoriously Jewish in both its significance and origin. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, however, conveys a Christian reimagination of the traditionally Judaic story in his depiction of the Sacrifice of Isaac. He uses the technique of tenebrism to pronounce the contrast of shadow and light, revealing what is inherently ambiguous in the biblical text. The result is a stark realism with Christian significance. 

Tenebrism, Christianity, and Genesis 22

Caravaggio uses tenebrism to visually reveal and reinterpret the missing details of the original text through the contrasting elements of light and darkness. The back and shoulders of the angel, the orange robe and bald head of Abraham, the struggling of Isaac and his anguished face, and the serene ram are the illuminated elements of the painting: they are what Caravaggio has brought to the foreground. Caravaggio portrays these elements in a harsh realism that centers around the intensity of purpose and swiftness in Abraham’s tight grasp on Isaac’s jaw, which can be both seen and felt. The struggling of Isaac and the intense anguish depicted in his face suggests that he did not know he was going to be sacrificed; Caravaggio decidedly interprets the uncertainty of what was spoken between Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22 prior to Isaac’s binding as total ignorance on behalf of Isaac. The dialogue of the biblical text between the angel and Abraham is interpreted visually. The angel’s call, “Abraham, Abraham!”, and Abraham’s response, “Here I am,” are translated into physical restraint and a surprised and wrinkled brow respectively. Abraham’s hand still tightly holding his knife implies that the angel appeared at precisely the right time: that Abraham was in the process of carrying out God’s commandment and showed little or no hesitation, thus confident in the will of God. The juxtaposition between the knife and Isaac’s face, in their literal proximity, compounds the effect of shocking realism. The ram appears oddly at ease, as though placed there purposefully by God, somehow understanding of or sympathetic to the true nature of the situation. 

The painting’s murky, mysterious background reflects that which is unknown in the text, and the details that Caravaggio adds function as a Christian reinterpretation of the original story. The hills, presumably in Moriah, are never specified. Likewise, the composition depicts an imaginary, distant background: clouds parting and light entering reveal either a medieval castle or cathedral sitting atop the far hill. This distinctly anachronistic element vertically aligns the distressed face of Isaac, the gentle ram, and the distant but illuminated building. In this sense, a Christian interpretation of these elements suggests that the sacrifice of Isaac foreshadows that of Christ. This interpretation marks the ram as a symbol of Christ’s offering and indicates that Abraham was God-like in his willingness to sacrifice his only son. Ultimately, Caravaggio uses tenebrism to reimagine the traditionally Jewish story in the light of Christianity. 

Influences on Caravaggio’s Interpretation

The Sacrifice of Isaac was commissioned by the agents of Jesuit-educated Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, who later became Pope Urban VII. Caravaggio completed the painting in 1604, after leading a volatile life in Rome that likely influenced his preference for an intense, dramatic realism that portrays life as he would have seen it, in the full spectrum of intensity of human emotion and experience. Caravaggio’s technique of tenebrism developed after an apprenticeship under Simone Peterzano, a proponent of the Lombardic style that is characterized by asymmetry, the use of orange, green, and purple colors, and a flat abstraction. Thus, Caravaggio deviated from the early Christian preference for symmetry and primary colors, applying his technique of tenebrism instead. 

The Christian effect of Caravaggio’s reimagination is consistent with its cause: it is no surprise that Barberini would prefer to view the Hebrew Bible in terms of the New Testament, given his status and predilection towards the Catholic church. As such, Caravaggio repurposes the initially Jewish story of Genesis 22 to uphold a Christian significance by making seen that which is left unsaid in the biblical text.

DEAN KARDAS is a part of Colgate University’s Class of 2024, originally from Newtown, PA. His intended major is Computer Science/Mathematics, but he also bears a passion for philosophy and literature.