A Caravaggio painting commissioned by a future pope

The painting The Sacrifice of Isaac was a commission from Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, who became Pope Urban VIII twenty years later. The painter inserted visual clues to honor his patron in the landscape, such as a laurel and a Sun recalling the Barberini family coat of arms. The artist experienced this lavish period of prestigious commissions just before having to flee Rome in 1606 after a murder committed during a brawl.