Abraham
Abraham is one of the main characters in the book of Genesis. He was the first of three patriarchs. His son Isaac and grandson Jacob were the second and third patriarchs.
Abraham lived in the city Ur in the land of the Chaldees before he departed for Canaan, together with his father, his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot.
In Canaan he built an altar. After a while the company moved on to Egypt because of a drought. When they returned, Abraham's and Lot's paths split.
Sarah was barren. At the age of 86 Abraham made a child with his maid Hagar: Ismael. Thirteen years on, Sarah miraculously became pregnant of another son, Isaac.
God tested Abraham's trust by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac. An angel intervened when Abraham had already raised his knife.
Related works of art:
Bol, Ferdinand: Abraham meets the Three Angels (c. 1662)
De Gelder, Arent: God and the Angels visit Abraham (c. 1680 - 1685)
Flinck, Govert: The Dismissal of Hagar (c. 1640-1645)
Il Guercino: Abraham Casting Out Hagar and Ishmael (1657)
Lastman, Pieter: Abraham Casting Out Hagar and Ishmael (1612)
Lastman, Pieter: Abraham on the Way to Canaan (1614)
Lucas van Leyden: Abraham and the Three Angels (1513)
Raphael: Four Biblical Scenes (1513 - 1514)
Rembrandt: The Angel Appears to Hagar (ca. 1655)
Rubens, Peter Paul: Abraham Meets Melchizedek (ca. 1625)
Rubens, Peter Paul: Hagar Leaves the House of Abraham (c. 1615-1617)
Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista: The Angels Appear to Abraham (1726 - 1729)
Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista: The Sacrifice of Melchizedek (1740-42)
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