An article on artguid.com, in which Byzantine puzzles of the sixth century are interpreted as modern art.
Abraham’s hospitality and Isaac’s sacrifice. Mosica Presbiteria, San Vitale Cathedral. 546-547
There is a composition in the Cathedral of San Vitala in which theological courage is dressed in the form of radical modernism, although the authors did not know what they were saying, and if they did, they would certainly have been estranged. In the presbyteria, two events that occur at different times, in different places, are described in different parts of the Book and seem to carry different messages. In San Vitale’s puzzle, their very connection and their way of cutting out a bright flash at the junction of the Old and New Testaments. And it’s not a short circuit, it’s a discharge that’s long in all the sacred history.
The Lamb calls for Abraham. Presbiterium puzzle detail
The two scenes are Abraham’s hospitality and Isaac’s sacrifice. In the Book of Genesis, there are years between these events. The artist, on the other hand, gives both stories a worldwide dimension, i.e., they relate to all times, to the history of mankind as a whole.
The souls of the righteous are in Lona Abraham. A capital from the Abbey Church of Alspach. Middle of the 12th century
…In this composition, at this point, the Old and New Testaments are linked — God’s covenant with man. To call such a finale «happy ending» does not turn a tongue. The Son of man will live his life without any privileges and privileges, and will complete it with the long, exhausting death of a slave after betraying and rejecting his disciples, humiliation, abuse and torture. Without any help from above. Isaac was saved from death, Jesus is not. God became to his son Abraham, who sacrificed his own child. And for who? To those who are better than his son? Fairer? Prettier, more talented, smarter? No, it’s not. «Don’t compare: the living one is unmatched.»
Rembrandt van Raine. Isaac’s sacrifice. 1635. State Ermitage
God’s fear is a prehuman, childish, puppy degree of trust — one that involves overcoming the arguments of reason, the instinct of freedom, and the power of human will. The same degree it took to believe in the ability of a dried-up old man to conceive a strong, healthy, handsome boy. Fear, ready to wait for mercy and kindness, never knowing for a second that everything will be okay. It may sound optimistic — but it’s really awful! And that was a great understanding of the deep knowledge of the Scriptures, such as Rembrandt. In his interpretation of the sacrifice, the father turns into a massacrer, a murderer, a slaughterer. Pale, exhausted, fried, he pressed a huge, strong hand on the face of a teenager, closing his eyes, breathing, screaming. It’s like his son’s the lamb, and he doesn’t care any less. Such trust requires being a non-dozen man and, to some extent, a human person at all.
Lono Abrahamovo. The miniatur from Githia Vasilia New. Lower city, 19th century
