Akeidath Yitzchak [”Sacrifice of Isaac.”] Illustrating the narrative in multiple registers: The angel stopping the slaughter; the procession to Mount Moriah; Eliezer seeking a wife for Isaac. With descriptive Biblical verses. Text in Hebrew and Cyrillic.

(FOLK BIBLE ILLUSTRATION).

Warsaw, Konkordia, c. 1920

Colored lithograph. Minor loss, multiple taped repairs on reverse.

The artist utilizes much dramatic license here. For example, the uppermost register depicts Abraham, Sarah and Isaac with Hebrew verses that in fact do not appear in the Biblical text. The second register shows Isaac’s clothing hanging from a tree which mirrors a second tree in which we see the hidden ram - later to be used as a sacrifice in Isaac’s place. In the third register, one can ascertain the European artist’s impression of the Biblical era - engagingly depicting the group in Oriental costume - Abraham and Isaac in exotic hats and robes; Ishmael, in a fez enjoying a hookah and Eliezer smoking an opium pipe.