Sacrifice of Isaac

School of Johann Liss · 1600–50

Medium

Oil on copper

Original size

Diam.: 33.9 cm (13 3/8 in.)

Currently held

Art Institute of Chicago

Movement

Mannerism

The Sacrifice of Isaac crackles with Baroque intensity — a moment of divine intervention rendered in rich, candlelit drama that holds you in genuine suspense even knowing the outcome. Johann Liss was a German-born painter who absorbed the lessons of Caravaggio and Rubens during his years in Rome and Venice, developing a style that fused northern precision with southern warmth and loose, flickering brushwork. Works attributed to his school share that same restless energy: figures that seem to breathe, shadows that press in close, and colour that glows rather than merely sits on the surface. Painting on copper rather than canvas allowed artists of this period to achieve exceptionally fine detail and a luminous, almost jewel-like quality — the cool, non-porous surface pushes light back through the paint in a way that canvas simply cannot replicate. Copper as a support was especially favoured for devotional subjects intended for private contemplation, making this format an intimate and deliberate choice. Each hand-painted oil reproduction of this work is executed using traditional techniques and artist-grade pigments, preserving the depth of shadow, the warmth of flesh tones, and the quiet authority that has kept this painting significant for more than three centuries.