Abraham and Isaac

Okay, it's been a while, but I just had to tell you about this.  I was exploring ffffound and found my way onto the illustrator Sam Webbers site.  His stuff is really quite wonderful. It appears that in some of his pieces Webber employs decalcomania (pressing the paint between two surfaces, like Max Ernst), though he doesn't say for sure.  I thought Webber's rendition of "Abraham and Isaac" was particularly interesting as a modern interpretation of a very traditional theme.  You just don't see a whole lot of religious painting these days.  I find the tranquility of this image rather haunting, both Abraham and Isaac seem resolute and calm, utterly faithful.  The delicate surrealism is profound in conveying the mystical experience.

Here's a little Caravaggio (another favorite) for comparison.

Isaac's expression is incredible! Really there's no need for me to ramble on about some old master (doubtless that's been done). I just wanted to point out how different the mood in Webber's piece is compared to the stark realism of Caravaggio's more traditional approach.