Scientific Journal of Motaleate-e Tatbighi-e Honar

The story of Abraham’s sacrifice stands as one of the most prominent narratives within Abrahamic religions, recounted through diverse interpretations. These exegetical differences are not only rooted in theological foundations but are also reflected in the realm of art, giving rise to artworks with distinct visual readings. This study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach to examine this narrative through an existentialist lens informed by Søren Kierkegaard, focusing on two visual representations: The Sacrifice of Abraham by Mohammad Zaman and The Sacrifice of Isaac by Marc Chagall, emerging from Iranian-Islamic and European-Jewish traditions, respectively. By analyzing these two works, the research seeks to attain a deeper understanding of how two artists from vastly different cultural, temporal, and geographical contexts have visually articulated their interpretations of the same sacred story.The study addresses two key questions: How is the concept of Abraham's sacrifice of his son represented in these two works through the lens of Kierkegaard’s thought? And how can the emergence of these differences be explained in terms of visual and thematic content? The findings of this research reveal two contrasting manifestations of faith: while both artworks originate from the same narrative seed, they reflect fundamentally different worldviews. Mohammad Zaman’s piece, characterized by compositional harmony and formal order, conveys a vision of faith rooted in tradition, ritual, and reverent silence—a familiar and sacred faith resting upon longstanding beliefs. In contrast, Chagall’s painting, with its fragmented colors, distressed expressions, and disjointed rhythm, portrays a faith that emerges through anxiety—a faith propelled toward an unsettled transcendence. It is precisely this tension that aligns Chagall’s work more closely with Kierkegaard’s existentialist philosophy. This comparison reveals not merely a dichotomy between tradition and modernity, but rather opens a new horizon for understanding faith as a dynamic visual current—elusive yet resilient—shaped through the artist’s encounter with the sacred. In the language of imagery, faith is reimagined anew, taking form at the intersection of aesthetic vision and spiritual experience.