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Brunelleschi: Summary And Ironic Analysis

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The subject matter for the bronze doors was filled with dramatic potential. The scene Brunelleschi and Ghiberti were depicting was the narrative of Abraham being commanded by God to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. Abraham was thus ordered by God to travel to the mountains to slay his son. This was especially painful for Abraham since he had been childless for so long; Abraham had to determine whether his faith in God was strong enough for him to remain subservient to Him in every aspect of his life. Finally right before Abraham is about to murder his son, an angel sweeps in and commands Abraham to spare his son’s life and instead sacrifice a ram.

Brunelleschi’s rendering of the scene is appropriately harsh and explosive for such a dramatic subject matter. It is easy to see the raw emotion and intensity in this piece. As Abraham aggressively lunges forward, he forcefully grabs his son by the neck. While he is doing this, an angel swoops in and physically intervenes to stop Abraham at the exact moment when the knife is making contact with Isaac’s skin. It is evident that Isaac is throwing his head back in fear, with his …show more content…

In this piece, Abraham is very tall and appears much more powerful than the frail and fearful Isaac. Abraham’s left hand grasps at Isaac’s jawline to better expose his neck so he can more effectually slit Isaac’s throat with his knife; this gives the piece feelings of immense intensity. In Abraham’s right hand, he is wielding a knife, and he is so vehemently determined to kill his son that the angel has to actually grab his wrist in order to stop the killing. The composition is filled with so much energy and movement that it literally bursts through the quatrefoil, which the scene is supposed to be contained

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