Sacrifice of Isaac by Caravaggio

The "Sacrifice of Isaac" was set aside in The Map Room at the Uffizi since the rooms for Caravaggio were closed for renovation.

That meant what we saw looked more like this painting to the left, very dark with only the interplay of the hands clearly visible. The flow of the light spaces, from the angel's arm to Arbraham's head to Isaac's shoulder and up to the sky, traces the tension. Seen in poor lighting, the way that the knife's curve answers the curve of the angel's left hand stands out more clearly. Maybe we should look at all paintings in poor light occasionally so that the composition and drama are more obvious. This painting, and the bronze panels done by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti about the sacrifice impressed me very much, so that I wrote a short story.