Updated 10 June 2025
On Display Permanent collection
On Display
Wooded Landscape with Abraham and Isaac
| Date | 1599 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | oil on panel |
| Size（cm） | 49.5 x 64.7 |
| Inscriptions | Signed and dated lower left: I, BRVEGHEL 1599 |
| Credit Line | Purchased |
| Standard ref. | Ertz 56 |
| Category | Paintings |
| Collection Number | P.2002-0001 |
The second son of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Jan Brueghel the Elder painted landscapes and finely detailed floral still lifes on panel and copperplate. This work depicts the scene from the Bible when Abraham, commanded by God to sacrifice his own son, is travelling to the land of Moriah. In the foreground, the elderly Abraham is riding a donkey, while the young Isaac, his son, accompanies him carrying a bundle of firewood. The painting is one of many examples of the artist incorporating religious figures as staffage into forest landscapes. (Source: Gallery label, July 2016)
Provenance
Sale Amsterdam (Mak van Waay), 14 March 1972, lot 12; New York Maxwell Brandwen Collection; Thomas & Brenda Brod, London; Purchased by the NMWA, 2002.
Exhibition History
- 1993
- The Age of Rubens, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: MA, 22 September 1993 - 2 January 1994, cat. no. 79
- 1997
- Pieter Breughel le jeune (1565-1637/8), Jan Brueghel l'ancien (1568-1625): une famille des peintres flamands vers 1600, Kulturstiftung Ruhr, Villa Hügel, Essen, 16 August 1997 - 16 November 1998, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien, 9 Dec. 1997 - 14 Apr. 1998, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Anvers, 3 May - 26 July 1998, cat. no. 40
Bibliography
- 1979
- Ertz, K. Jan Brueghel der Ältere: Die Gemäelde. Cologne, 1979, p. 199, no. 56.
- 2004
- Annual bulletin of the National Museum of Western Art. No. 37 (Apr. 2002-Mar. 2003), 2004, Kofuku, Akira. New Acquisitons. pp. 9-11, List of New Acquisitions. p. 38, repr.
- 2006
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2006 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 38, col. repr.
- 2009
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2009, no. 38, col. repr.
- 2013
- Masterpieces: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2013 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 28, col. repr.
- 2018
- Kofuku, Akira. Catalogue of Dutch and Flemish Paintings, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. [Tokyo], The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo; The Western Art Foundation, 2018, pp. 56-59, no. 12, col. repr.