Vatican Museums

Produced in 1973, this large bronze Isaac refers to the biblical episode in which God, to test Abraham’s faith, orders him to sacrifice his son Isaac. When Abraham, without hesitation, is about to carry out the sacrifice, an angel stops him and offers him a ram to sacrifice in the place of his son (Genesis, 22, 2.13). Baskin chooses to depict the moment following the climax of the narrative: Isaac is seated, immobile, with the slaughtered lamb on his lap. The tragedy has been averted and the firm posture of the patriarch implicitly communicates his newly-restored calm. The face of Isaac is probably a self-portrait, who also includes himself in other works.