Another milestone: The final day open to the public is 28 March 2024, 10 am–9 pm.

00:00
/
00:00
Maes, Nicolaes
Abraham’s Sacrifice
1653/55

Nicolaes Maes followed in the footsteps of Ferdinand Bol in leaving his native city, the provincial centre of Dordrecht, to study under Rembrandt in bustling Amsterdam. He was undoubtedly encouraged by his teacher Samuel van Hoogstraten, who had studied there in the previous decade. For this powerful scene of the patriarch Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son Isaac by divine command, Maes assiduously followed Rembrandt’s pedagogical recipe of developing compositions and poses in loose and finished sketches, of which five are known.

 
Maes, Nicolaes
Dordrecht, Netherlands 1634–Amsterdam, Netherlands 1693
Abraham’s Sacrifice
1653/55
Oil on canvas
overall: 113 cm x 91.5 cm
Purchase, Bader Acquisition Fund, 2014
57-002

Subscribe to our “This Week at Agnes” e-newsletter to stay abreast of events, news and opportunities at the art museum.