Abraham
Lorenzo Monaco (Piero di Giovanni)·ca. 1408–10
Historical Context
This panel of Abraham by Lorenzo Monaco, painted around 1408-10, is a companion to the artist's David, Moses, and Noah panels. Together they represent Old Testament patriarchs, likely from the predella or pilaster decoration of a significant Florentine altarpiece. Lorenzo Monaco's treatment of these figures combines the hieratic dignity appropriate to sacred personages with the decorative elegance of the International Gothic style that flourished in Florence around 1400.
Technical Analysis
The gold ground and tempera technique create a luminous, icon-like presence. Lorenzo Monaco's distinctive elongated proportions and flowing drapery lines are rendered with supreme calligraphic confidence, the rich pigments applied in thin, carefully blended layers.
