Offer van Isaak 1720 - 1728

Curator: Here we have Joseph Mulder’s print, "The Sacrifice of Isaac," dating from around 1720 to 1728. Editor: Well, it certainly conveys the high drama. Everything about it, from the sharp lines to the precariousness of the scene, speaks to that raw, unnerving moment of divine intervention. The angel swooping in like that—a theatrical rescue, wouldn't you say? Curator: Absolutely. And if you look at it from the angle of production, think of the craftsmanship involved in achieving that level of detail. The entire process of engraving the metal plate, requiring not just artistic skill but immense physical labor and chemical knowledge to ensure the lines are etched sharply enough to produce such dramatic tonal contrasts in each print made. Editor: I always wonder what the artist thought when creating this piece; such emotional intensity, but distilled and recreated through their body... Do you think they ever questioned what Abraham must have been feeling? Curator: It makes one wonder, doesn't it? But I am not sure the artist intended to make such inquiries or to engage with internal thoughts. Prints such as this one were circulated widely and in many languages in the 18th century precisely to show rather than explore emotions and ideas. They formed a global market of faith and morals through a physical object, reproducible and distributable because of particular skills, labor, and materials. Editor: Yes, that is very insightful. I concede that perhaps it's me who wants the artist to suffer more. Ultimately, I suppose that my engagement with "The Sacrifice of Isaac" leads to further thoughts about how a maker—like Mulder here—transforms trauma and belief through skill and matter. Curator: Exactly, because in looking back we’re reminded about not only the hand of the engraver but our own individual human-sized interaction within such expansive visuality.