Abraham and Isaac

Woodcuts by Lucas van Leyden are great rarities in the world of old master prints, and are treasured and sought-after by collectors and museums alike. Unlike Dürer, who had his woodcut series and smaller, devotional images printed in several editions and large numbers, Leyden's print-runs must have been tiny and his blocks did not survive for long, as posthumous impressions barely seem to exist. Most impressions of woodcuts by Leyden that have come to the market over the last few decades were quite damaged and restored. The appearance of a beautiful impression in good condition, such as the present example, is hence an exceptional occurrence. Despite this very limited output, Lucas van Leyden was a gifted and inspired designer of woodcuts. His finest works in the medium, including Abraham and Isaac, are imbued with a lingering atmosphere rarely found even in Dürer's best woodcuts. While the works of the two artists share at first glance many stylistic similarities, there is a marked difference in their mentalities: whereas Dürer depicts biblical, mythological or invented archetypes, Leyden depicts people. Herein, he is much more akin to another artist from Leyden working over one hundred years later - Rembrandt van Rijn - than to his German contemporary. This is nowhere more apparent than in the slightly awkward figure of Isaac, unknowlingly carrying the wood for his own sacrificial pyre, while his father looks on, guilt-ridden and torn. Dürer would have turned this scene into high drama, here it is heart-breaking.
New Hollstein records a total of 14 impressions of the first state in public collections, and one unique impression of the second state, with text (British Museum, London). None have appeared at auction within the last thirty years. The present sheet bears the same watermark as the example at the National Gallery of Art, Washington (inv. no. 1943.3.5704).