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The stylistic developments of Cornelis de Vos's history pictures in the 1620s was completely in line with general changes in style and taste in contemporary Antwerp painting. His compositions, such as the Allegory of Transience, are notable both for their relief-like appearance in which a few monumental figures are represented in front of an architectural background, and for the increased attention given to the variety of poses and the animation of the facial expressions of the characters. These characters still retain the rather static and strongly plastic character seen in his earliest paintings.
After 1630 the relief-like appearance gives way to a conception in which the characters are presented deeper in the picture plane, so that the background and the clear sky take up a larger part of the picture. The Sacrifice of Isaac illustrates this well. This painting was executed for the cathedral of Pisa, where the painting hung for 300 years.
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