On God's command, Abraham agrees to sacrifice his son Isaac. As Abraham raises the knife, an angel appears out of nowhere to halt the sacrifice. The complex expressions of father and son in this work combine grief, strength, resignation, fear, and realization in their faces and bodies, which are inspired by ancient sculpture and Michelangelo. Andrea del Sarto never completed this painting, which reveals his working methods. He transferred the design from a drawing to the panel, reinforcing the chalk with painted lines—most notably in the donkey on the far right. He then worked over the entire panel at once with thin, brushy veils of color, allowing him to change the composition as he painted—particularly in the angel, Isaac's body, and Abraham's head.
