Today art is used to illustrate stories, feelings, and ideas, communicating a punch-line, action, or climax. It is used today just as it has been. The artists of the Renaissance, and even earlier, knew this. Lorenzo Ghiberti and Caravaggio found themselves having to tell the stories that their patrons wanted to see. I find my own art steered not only by my own wishes, but those of others as well. Their lives are separated by over a hundred years of change and advances. I find their portrayals of Abraham's sacrifice of his son Issac both vastly different and similar.

The earlier piece by Lorenzo Ghiberti was his entry into a competition for work on the San Giovanni Baptistry doors. The style follows a strict Gothic portrayal of a favorite story from the life of Christ. Favorite of the church and the people because, even to me, of ultimate dedication, faith, and devotion. Ultimate sacrifice as well. I personally see (even though it is a test) a level of reward for these traits as well.

Ghiberti's composition is a swirling mass of information that he was forced to fit into a restricted size and format. Central to the bronze relief stands Abraham wielding the knife, poised with a strong arm, firm stance, and committed look on his face. In a nod to the classical style the muscular form of his son Issac appears nude, kneeling and poised like a statue on the altar. Above them flies an angel, swooping in with arms thrown out to deliver the last minute message that Issac is to be saved.

I feel Ghiberti's ability to fit the maximum impact and clarity of the events (as deemed by the church) speaks of his mastery. It does seem to me that it has conventional answers to the problems of illustrating the story. This probably speaks more of the times than of the artist. The story and the importance of the work is evident because the story is so clear.

The composition also features a rocky mountainside, two men and a mule, and the iconic figure of a sacrificial lamb or sheep. These figures appear for balance and symbolic reasons, they all have an understanding of the event. I don't think that there is any question that this is a somber and important moment of questions and tests of faith. Even the animal lies quietly on the rock and pays its own attention to the scene.

The 17th century work of Caravaggio is a painting a bit more than twice the size of Ghiberti's relief sculpture. There the quick comparisons can begin. The same event is definitely taking place. The older man Abraham has brought his son Issac to an altar on the side of a mountain to carry out the commandment of God. Here we are brought much closer to the event in distance, emotion, and realism. Abraham stands over the young boy, holding him down on the stone, with a knife ready to strike. At this moment an angel has appeared, as if entering from the frame, to stop the action. Beyond this scene the background countryside stretches into the low lit sky. This is how Caravaggio is telling his story. The sparse foliage of Ghiberti's mountain added a small bit of nature's presence to his piece, but here Caravaggio allows it to play a larger part.

Deep, while forests grow around them, wide mountainous land spreads out in the background. It looks very much like the surrounding lands here, beautiful and lightly touched, but still retaining the manicured touch of time.

At Issac's side peers a sad looking sheep. The moment is once again marked by this character's aware presence. The drama, light, costume, pageantry, and beauty add a realism that is almost cinematic. Caravaggio's use of light takes the place of the additional characters in Ghiberti's version. The fading day whispers as the men did on the meaning of the moment. The striking orange light of the sun, or possibly a holy light, fills the scene for the angel's arrival. The figures are undoubtedly human and their suffering is evident in the faces. The angel has forcibly entered and grabbed Abraham's arm. He has turned his head in wonderment, still carrying a sense of determination and anguish on his face. You could just imagine the hours he spent building up the faith and strength for the act and now relief is just moments away. The angel's speech is not yet done, but we can see the past and the future of the characters. The relief and emotion, perhaps an embrace? Ghiberti managed to squeeze some emotion along with the facts, while here we are provided the tension and emotion in heaping handfuls.

Why does it seem that the story has a greater meaning and dramatic feel in Caravaggio's portrayal? Was it possibly the restrictions created by the Gothic form that hindered Ghiberti? He would later go on to include a bit of the story in an altered form in his "Gates of Paradise." Maybe the real reason is the one-hundred years difference. The advances and discoveries of dramatic light with almost romantic emotion were on the way and even alluded to what was to come.

We can look at the figures and see their similarities. Abraham is an old man in robes, with a long beard, and faithful purpose. Issac, his son, is a younger man (or boy in Caravaggio's work) portrayed in the classic nude form. Maybe this says something of the act of holy sacrifice as an older thing. The major differences are the pose and indistinguishable age in Ghiberti's. The angel has arrived to freeze the moment, the lamb watches on, as does the surrounding wilderness.

Perhaps these are classic or traditional elements handed down through antiquity, like a common script. Carravagio has chosen to remove optional characters in exchange for thick emotion and closeness. I believe Ghiberti chose to use the space provided to offer as much information as possible to stoke the imagination of the viewer.

In the case of the relief, every visitor to the Baptistry doors was an audience. In Caravaggio's case there were the patrons and the visitors to the Uffizi today. As I look at the works now, I find that they still adequately and with degrees of mastery handle their purpose. I can go to the Baptistry doors and stand with dozens of others to look at the copies of the 28 events in the life of Christ. I can also go to the Bargello Museum and look at the original, side by side with the runner-up. I can see the depth of the relief, the elegance and classic look of the form. I could instantly get what I needed to know and use it as a reference when told the story by someone else.