1925 Isaac Sends Esau to Hunt, Monreale Cathedral Vintage Art Postcard
About This Vintage Postcard
The glittering Byzantine heritage of Sicily is captured in this art reproduction of a 12th-century mosaic from the Cathedral of Monreale. Titled "Isacco manda Esaù alla caccia e gli promette la benedizione" (Isaac sends Esau to hunt and promises him the blessing), the scene depicts the blind patriarch Isaac instructing his eldest son to hunt game so that he may receive the final blessing. The artwork is part of the world-famous cycle of gold-ground mosaics at the Basilica di Santa Maria Nuova, which remains one of the most significant examples of Norman-Byzantine art in the world. The postcard beautifully illustrates the stylized figures and rich ornamental borders characteristic of the XII-century Sicilian mosaic masters.
Details
Era: Divided Back (circa 1925–1935)
City: Monreale (near Palermo)
State or Region: Sicily
Country: Italy
Topic: Monreale Cathedral Mosaics, Byzantine Art, Biblical Scenes, Isaac and Esau, Sicilian Heritage
Condition: Uncirculated
Postage: None
Address Side: divided back
Orientation: Horizontal (Landscape)
Artist / Photographer: Unknown (12th-century Mosaicists)
Publisher: Unknown (Part of a numbered Basilica series, No. 38)
Printer: Unknown
Print Type: Lithograph (Color with gold metallic ink)
Additional Information
This postcard is part of an official series documenting the mosaics of the Monreale Cathedral, narrowed to circa 1925–1935 based on the specific sans-serif typography and the "38" series numbering on the reverse. The Cathedral of Monreale, built by William II of Sicily, contains over 6,000 square meters of mosaics that were intended to present the entire history of the Bible to a largely illiterate population. During the interwar period, high-quality lithography was used to capture the "shimmer" of these gold mosaics for travelers on the Mediterranean Grand Tour. The Latin inscription on the front is a direct quote from the Vulgate Bible, and the back provides the Italian description of the specific narrative scene. This card remains a durable record of the intricate craftsmanship that has survived in the Cathedral for over 800 years.
This postcard would look great framed or make an excellent addition to any collection.
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