Artwork
Melchisedech Blessing Abraham
Melchisedech Blessing Abraham is an ink print by the Baroque artist John Baptist Jackson. It dates from 1743 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Melchisedech Blessing Abraham is a chiaroscuro woodcut print created by John Baptist Jackson in 1743. The work is characterized by its use of multiple blocks to achieve a range of tones and textures.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts a biblical scene: two bearded men in robes stand in the foreground, one gesturing towards the other, who sits with a book. Behind them, a group tends sheep on a hillside, with a church spire in the distance, set against a soft, hazy sky.
Technique & Style
Jackson employed a chiaroscuro woodcut technique, using four blocks to print in buff, gray, and two shades of brown on laid paper. The layering of different shades creates deep contrasts, making the figures and landscape stand out from the background.
History & Provenance
John Baptist Jackson was a British woodcut printmaker active in Paris and Venice during the 18th century. He specialized in reproducing oil paintings through printmaking, experimenting with subtle overprinting and embossing to expand his color range and highlight key areas.
Artist & collection
Artist
John Baptist Jackson (1701–1780) was a British artist, a woodcut printmaker of the eighteenth century.
![The Marriage at Cana [left plate], by John Baptist Jackson](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/john-baptist-jackson--the-marriage-at-cana-left-plate--22bae83d46cc40b5-w320.webp)
The Finding of Moses
The Crucifixion (Left Panel)
Christ on the Mount of Olives
Saint Peter and Saint John Healing a Cripple at the Gate of the Temple
Dives and Lazarus (Right Panel)
Melchizedek Blessing Abraham
The Miracle of Saint Mark (left side)
Diogenes Casting Away His Bowl
The Return of the Prodigal Son