Crossing the Red Sea

Exodus 14-15:21 tells us that when the Israelites’ exodus is blocked by the Red Sea, Pharaoh changes his mind and ordered his army to pursue them.  And they complain.  God parts the sea, they cross, Pharaoh’s army follows them, and when the Israelites are safely across, the Lord releases the walls of the parted sea which collapses upon the Egyptian army, drowning them in the sea.  Miriam composes a song and the Israelites celebrate their deliverance.  At least, for a while.

The Crossing of the Red Sea ROSSELLI (1439 – 1507)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/535.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting.  Again, we see the influence of Rosselli’s contemporary world.

Crossing of the Red Sea CHAGALL (1887-1985)

See http://www06.homepage.villanova.edu/christopher.j.wilson/crossing.jpg for the source of the above photograph of the lithograph.  See http://www06.homepage.villanova.edu/christopher.j.wilson/bible.htm for a description of it and of Chagall’s debt to other painters.  It appears to me that there is a crucifix in the upper right portion of the piece, which seems to be inconsistent with a Jewish rendition of the scene; but Chagall also painted several crucifixes.  For an excellent and accessible summary of Chagall’s life and work, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Chagall.  For reference to his later life when he adopted Christianity yet reflected Jewish themes, see http://www.chagallpaintings.org/article5-chagall-paintings.html.

Submerssion of Pharaoh in the Red Sea PREVITALI (c. 1470-1528)

See http://www.terminartors.com/artworkprofile/Previtali_Andrea-Submersion_of_Pharaoh_in_the_Red_Sea for the source of the above photograph of the painting and a very brief description.  Again, we see a rendition of the painting of an ancient biblical story cast in a high Renaissance setting – contemporary with the artist’s cultural and historical heritage.

The spiritual, O Mary, Don’t You Weep celebrates the safe crossing and Miriam’s song with great flair.

Miriam BURNE-JONES (1833 – 1893)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/141.html for the source of the above photograph of the stained glass window in St. Michael and All Angels Church in England.

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Exodus from Egypt

The message Moses gets from the burning bush is to go back to Egypt and, with his brother Aaron, to take the children of Israel, the Jews, out of Egypt.  It takes ten plagues, the first nine of which “God causes” Pharaoh’s heart to harden (this is one place where one must be wary of too literal an interpretation – how fair would it be to punish one for matters which were beyond the control of that person?); but after the tenth, resulting in the death of the first born of all living things except those with the blood of the pascall lamb painted on the door posts of the dwelling, including the death of Pharaoh’s own child, his heart is broken, at least for a moment, and he wants the Jews out of Egypt.  Exodus chapters 4-13.

God Turns Moses’ Staff Into a Serpent CHAGALL (1887-1985)

See http://www.spaightwoodgalleries.com/Pages/Chagall_Exodus.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting.

The Fifth Plague of Egypt TURNER (1775 – 1851)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/533.html for the above photograph of the painting and a brief description.  There aren’t a lot of art masterpieces of the various plagues, but Turner, who later developed into a well-known English “painter of light” and water color artist of landscapes in the Romantic period, finds the subject to be a wonderful opportunity to paint a dramatic, tumultuos landscape.

The Tenth Plague of Egypt TURNER

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/588.html for the above photograph of the painting and a brief description.

Exodus CHAGALL

See http://www.abcgallery.com/C/chagall/chagall121.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting.

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The Burning Bush

For some time, Moses was content to tend the sheep of his father-in-law, Jethro.  One day, while doing so on “the mountain of God,” he saw a bush that was engulfed in fire but was not consumed.  Exodus 3.

Moses before the Burning Bush FETI (ca. 1613-14)

 See http://www.lib-art.com/artgallery/5513-moses-before-the-burning-bush-domenico-feti.html for the source of theabove photograph of the painting.

Moses at the Burning Bush REMBRANDT (1606 – 1669)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/112.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting and a brief description.

Moses at the Burning Bush BLAKE (1757-1827)

See http://www.william-blake.org/Moses-and-the-Burning-Bush-large.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting; see  http://orth-transfiguration.org/library/scripture/exodus3.1_6/ for an excellent and in-depth analysis of it.

Exodus: Moses and the burning bush CHAGALL (1966)

See http://www.spaightwoodgalleries.com/Pages/Chagall_Exodus.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting.

The Burning Bush DALI (1904- 1989)

See http://www.artbible.net/1T/Exo0211_Escape_call/images/20%20DALI%2016%20A%20FLAME%20OF%20FIRE%20OF%20MIDST%20A%20BUSH.JPG.jpg for the source of the above photograph of the painting.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Dal%C3%AD for an entertaining biography.

One of the reasons I like so much the story of Moses and the burning bush is the depth of meaning that I have gained, beyond the identity of the Divine, as the message of God from the bush to Moses is represented by the King James Version: “I Am.”  That has led to a Christian notion that God is, was and will remain the same.   I am afraid that we have killed God so we can KNOW the God that we worship, “as revealed in the Bible.”

In his book, Ye Shall Be as Gods,  Eric Fromm introduced me in the late 60’s to the dynamic meaning and experience of the Hebrew word, Yahweh: rather than present, I Am, it is the imperfect form of the Hebrew verb “to be.”  More accurately it means that God lives: “I am becoming.”  From that notion came the Jews’ various descriptions of God, including the “Living God” and the “Nameless God.”  The story of the bush on that sacred mountain is inextricably bound with the Ten Commandments that, not much later, issued from “the hand of God” on that same “Mountain of God,” which, consistent with the notion of the Living God, unmistakably rejects idolatry.  God is neither a manmade object, as an idol of bronze, nor even a Golden Calf.  That is easy enough to understand insofar as material objects are made by human hands, yet worshipped as having trans-human powers.   Even more pernicious is the God of anthropomorphic proportions, as divined by the mind, yet the products of human minds and handwriting, resulting in the Bible, which has come to us after much collecting, editing, revising, rejecting, canonizing, un-canonizing and re-canonizing; and through that process, continuing to this very day, it continues to be translated, transliterated and interpreted.  But, Eric Fromm, and, indeed, the Bible, itself, makes it clear that God is not to be objectified.

God is not to be defined, nor, by necessary implication, to be contained in a book bounded, with two covers, one emblazoned with the title, Holy Bible.   Although one of its two creation stories tells us that mankind was created in the image of “us gods,” God is much more than our anthropomorphized Man-Writ-Large.  This revelation of Fromm has opened to me the wonder in this world of the sacred, of its becoming.  It is not static; it is evolving.  “When I consider the work of thy hand,” I am awe-struck that all of the world, all life with it, is infused with the sacred.”

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Moses Sees the Misery of His People

Exodus 2:11-15 tells us that when Moses was a young man he saw the misery of the Jews, his people.

Moses Sees the Misery of his People CHAGALL (1887–1985)

See http://spaightwoodgalleries.com/Pages/Chagall_Exodus.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting and a brief description.

Exodus 2:11-tells us that he killed an Egyptian who was striking a Jewish slave.  When word spread that he had done so, he fled into the desert to Midian, where he met and married Zipporah.

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Moses Found Among the Bulrushes

Exodus, named for the exit or deliverance of the Jews from Egypt, begins by telling how hard times came upon the Jews after many years in Egypt.  According to the account, the Pharaoh had become fearful of their growing power and had therefore ordered the Egyptian midwives to kill the male Hebrew children upon delivery.  A Hebrew woman gave birth to a son, and she devised a scheme to put him in a bulrush ark and float him on the Nile near where the Pharoah’s daughter bathed.  Exodus 1 & 2.

The Exposition of Moses POUSSIN (1594 – 1665)

See http://www.artfund.org/artwork/2904/the-exposition-of-moses for the source of the photograph of the above painting and a brief but interesting description.

The Finding of Moses BOURDON (1616-1671)

See http://www.safran-arts.com/42day/art/art4may/art0508.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting and a description.

I find it interesting that according to my readings there is no archaeological evidence of Jewish slavery in Egypt.  A few years ago I had occasion to visit with a young Christian archaeologist who was planning go to Egypt to study the archaeological evidence of the early Jews.  I inquired and he acknowledged that it had yet to be discovered.  Is that cause for concern?  Not for me.  There is much symbology in the Exodus story that is more interesting to me than the story-as-history.

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Israel Reunited With Joseph in Egypt

Genesis 46:29-30 tells us that Israel (Jacob) traveled to Egypt where he was reunited with Joseph.

Joseph Receives His Father and Brothers BRAY(1627-1697)

See http://www.themartman.com/stmartins/6joseph.jpg for the source of the above photograph of the painting.   I love the arches, soldiers’ accouterments and dog in the foregroound.  What do you see?

Genesis 48 tells us that Jacob blessed Joseph’s children before he died, when his eyesight was failing.  As he was born contending with Esau for the rights of the first born, Jacob lays his right hand upon the younger of Joseph’s sons to bless him, which displeases Joseph.  Joseph instructs his father to lay his hand upon the older child, but Jacob refused, saying, “I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.”  Thus ends Genesis as “captured” by Rembrandt:

Jacob Blessing the Children of Joseph REMBRANDT (1606 – 1669)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/421.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting and a brief description.  The commentary notes that Rembrandt (charitably) chose not to represent Joseph’s displeasure.

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Unexpected Reunion

Genesis 43-45 tells us that Israel ‘s country is also suffering famine.  He hears that there is plenty of grain for sale in Egypt; so, he sends his sons, all, that is, except Benjamin, his youngest son, of whom he cannot bear to risk loss.    Here is that story in  “pictures.”

The Story of Joseph GHIBERTI (1378-1455)

See http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/g/ghiberti/paradiso/2joseph.html for the source of the above photograph of the gilded bronze panel and a brief description.   You will notice, again, Ghiberti’s representation of several separate scenes in one panel, thereby representing at once the whole story.

The Search for the Cup BACCHIACCA (1494 – 1557)

See http://www.terminartors.com/artworkprofile/Bacchiacca_Francesco-Scenes_from_the_Story_of_Joseph_The_Search_for_the_Cup for the source of the above photograph of the painting.

The Discovery of the Stolen Cup BACCHIACCA

See http://www.backtoclassics.com/gallery/bacchiacca/scenesfromthestoryofjosephthediscoveryofthestolencup/ for the source of the above photoraph of the painting.

Discovery of the Golden Cup GHIBERTI

Recognition of Joseph by his Brothers CORNELIUS (1783-1867)

See http://www.terminartors.com/artworkprofile/Cornelius_Peter_von-The_Recognition_of_Joseph_by_his_Brothers for the source of the above photograph of the painting.

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Potiphar’s Wife and Pharaoh’s Dream

Joseph is taken by the traders to Egypt, where he is sold to Potiphar, captain of the Pharoah’s guard.   While in faithful service to Potiphar, Jacob rejects the advances of Potiphar’s wife.  She feels scorned, and she became the epitome of the statement often attributed to Shakespeare concerning a woman scorned . . .   Joseph is imprisoned where he interprets dreams of fellow prisoners, not always with good news (Genesis 40), and he is forgotten.  Some time thereafter, Pharoah has a disturbing dream and one former prisoner-returned-to service-of -the-Pharoah remembers Joseph. Joseph “just happens to be in the right place at the right time.”  He remembers Joseph and the Pharoah summons Joseph from prison to interpret his dream.  (Genesis 41).

There are a number of paintings of the story about how Potiphar’s wife took a special liking to Joseph and attempted to seduce him.  Rembrandt takes that opportunity to study of the human condition and character.

Joseph Accused by Potiphar’s Wife REMBRANDT (1606 – 1669)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/360.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting and description.  For an excellent, detailed analysis of the painting, see http://www.customessaymeister.com/customessays/Fine%20Arts/4078.htm  Again, I see in the painting Joseph’s resignation to his fate, without protest, as though there might be some meaning in the madness -yet again.

Joseph Interpreting  Pharaoh’s Dream CORNELIUS (1783-1867)

See http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/c/corneliu/fresco1.html for the above photograph of the fresco and a description.

Joseph tells the Pharoah that his dream means that a famine is coming, but that the Pharoah can prepare for those hard times because first there will be years of plenty.  A grateful Pharoah puts Joseph in charge of storing grain in preparation – a great rags-to-riches story.

Joseph Selling Wheat to the People BREENBURGH (ca. 1598 – 1657)

See http://www.terminartors.com/artworkprofile/Breenbergh_Bartholomeus-Joseph_Selling_Wheat_to_the_People for the source of the above photograph of the painting.

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Joseph the Dreamer

Joseph is born to Jacob and Rebecca.  Genesis 37.  He was a dreamer and he didn’t mind sharing his dreams, not only his brothers, but even with his father.   Rembrandt captures that moment:

Joseph Tells His Dreams to Jacob REMBRANDT (1606 – 1669)

See http://www.spaightwoodgalleries.com/Pages/Rembrandt.html for a photograph of the above etching and a description of it.

Joseph Tells His Dreams to Jacob REMBRANDT (1606 – 1669)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/564.html for the source of the photograph of the painting.

In each of the above works of art, Rembrandt studies various reactions of Jacob’s brother and of his father.

Of course, the result is that the brothers are jealous and get rid of Joseph by selling him to some passing slave traders going to Egypt.  Genesis 37.

Joseph is Pulled Out of the Well ANNONYMOUS (18th Century)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/742.html for a photograph of the above illumination.  It is particularly interesting to me because it is the work of a Muslim artist inserted into a Persian poem, despite Islamic general disapproval of artistic rendition of images, particularly those of the human body, and because it tells the story from an Islamic  point of view.   See http://www.studiesincomparativereligion.com/public/articles/Perennial_Values_in_Islamic_Art-by_Titus_Burckhardt.aspx for the source of the above photograph of the painting.

Joseph Sold by his Brothers BACCHIACCA (1494 – 1557)

See http://www.lib-art.com/artgallery/20784-scenes-from-the-story-of-joseph-joseph-sold-by-his-brethren-bacchiacca.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting.  For some biographical information on this lesser-known artist and characteristics of his style within Florentine Mannerism see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Bacchiacca. The style of painting reminds me of the Twentieth Century Mexican painter, Jose Clemente Orozko, particularly of his Zapatistas, see http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=79798, has a similar earth-tone pallette, stolid figures, and an even more heightened sense of rhythm.  Isn’t it interesting that visual art would convey a sense of rhythm, beating incessantly with a sense of resignation, in an inevitable, forced march to doom?

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Reconciliation

Genesis 33:3,4 tells us that the next day, “He passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.  And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.”

The Reconciliation of Jacob and Esau REMBRANDT (1606-1669)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/87.html for the source of the photograph of the above line drawing.  I love Rembrandt’s line drawing, not just because of his empathy for the human condition but because he says so much with so little.  In that sense it seems to have a modern, expressive flair – it seems to come to life.

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Jacob Wrestles and is Named Israel

Jacob finally gets Rachel as his wife.  But Laban wants Jacob to remain and feed his sheep, goats and cattle.  As his wages, Jacob agrees he will get the less desirable livestock.  Genesis 30 and 31 tells us that he stays with Laban a total of twenty years.  That is an additional six years for Jacob to manipulate Laban’s livestock so that it appears that Jacob is getting the less favorable livestock as his wages whereas, in fact, he gets the stronger livestock and Laban the weaker.  Thereby, he builds a fortune.

As you can imagine, Jacob leaves Laban on less than favorable terms.  Genesis 31:49 contains the familiar parting phrase, “The Lord watch between me and thee while we are absent one from the other.”  We used to close our Christian Endeavor meetings with that verse.  My father noted that rather than the warm parting that it seemed, it was one of deep suspicion and resentment.  You will see from its context it is quite different from the song that seems to be of similar sentiment, “God be with you ’til we meet again.”

Jacob returns to his homeland, Canaan, where he prepares to again meet Esau.  He has no idea what to expect of Esau, their parting having been so bitter.  Surely, Jacob could not have expected any change in Esau, as there had been so little change, it would seem, in Jacob’s own dishonest and manipulative nature.  Jacob sends servants ahead to arrange a meeting with Esau.  Esau sends back word that he will be at the appointed place the next day to meet Jacob –  with four hundred men.  That concerns Jacob.  He does not rest well that night.  Instead, he finds himself wrestling with a man until dawn and “throws out his hip.”  For surviving the bout, he is named Israel.

Jacob names the place Peniel: “for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”

Jacob Wrestling with the Angel REMBRANDT (1606-1669)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/89.html for the source of the photograph of the above painting.  See http://www.rembrandtgallery.org/painting-REMBRANDT%20Harmenszoon%20van%20Rijn-Jacob%20Wrestling%20with%20the%20Angel-34521.htm for a brief description of Rembrandt’s style and place in art history.

Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (detail) Eugène DELACROIX (1798-1863)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/604.html for a photograph of the above painting and a brief description.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob’s_Ladder for a fuller description of the symbolism in the story and in the paintings.

See http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/gauguin for expert analysis and discussion of a late Romantic, pre-modern interpretion of the same scene by Paul Gauguin.

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Jacob Deals With One as Conniving as He

Genesis 29 tells us that Jacob arrived in Laban’s land where he met Rachel, who was at the well watering the sheep.  He is smitten with her beauty.  When Jacob tells her that he is a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah, she runs to bring Laban to Jacob.  Rembrandt captures the moment of their meeting.

Laban Greets Jacob REMBRANDT (1606-1669)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/88.html for the source of the above photograph of the drawing.

We learn that Laban, himself, suggests that Jacob should not serve Laban without wages, so he asks Jacob what those wages should be.  Jacob says he will serve Laban for seven years for Rachel as his wife.  Laban agrees, and at the end of those seven years there is a wedding.  It is not until after the ceremony that Jacob discovers that he got Rachel’s “weak eyed” sister, Leah, not Rachel.  Only then Laban tells Jacob that it is contrary to custom in that land to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older.  Not to be denied the prize altogether, Jacob serves Laban for yet another seven years for Rachel.  Poor Leah.  Jacob apparently does not hide his disappointment.  But God perhaps has a sense of humor, or a little spite(?)  We are told that when God saw that Leah was not loved, Leah conceived and had many children with Jacob, but Rachel was unable to have children for quite some time.

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Jacob Flees and Has a Dream

Genesis 28 tells us that Isaac, realizing he gave his blessing to Jacob, charges him, as Abraham had charged Isaac, that he not take a Canaanite as a wife, but to go to Rebecca’s brother, Laban, in Syria to take one of his daughters.  Esau finds a wife among one of Ishmael’s daughters – now to become doubly outcast from the “chosen.”

Jacob flees to Syria.  On the way, one night he has a dream.

Jacob’s Dream FERDINAND BOL (1616-1680)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/459.html for the source of the photograph of the painting and a general description of the events it

represents.  Bohl was a student of Rembrandt and that influence is evident in the painting.

Jacob’s Dream BLAKE (1757-1827)

 See http://www.artble.com/imgs/c/8/8/524824/jacob_s_ladder.jpg for the source of the photograph of the above painting.

 

Dream of Jacob CHAGALL (1887-19850)s

See http://www.fantasyarts.net/chagalljacob.html for the source of photograph of the above painting and a brief description.  For a succinct biograpy and description of Chagal’s work, see http://tars.rollins.edu/Foreign_Lang/Russian/chagall.html.

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A Blessing Obtained by Deceit

Genesis 27 tells the story of  Rebecca putting Jacob up to tricking Isaac into giving Jacob, the second twin born,the blessing that primogeniture required be given the first born, Esau.  As the story goes, Rebecca overhears Isaac make the request for the presence of Esau so that he may bless him with his approval and inheritance.   Isaac’s eyesight is failing him, and Rebecca wants her favorite son, Jacob. to receive the blessing.  So she consorts with Jacob to deceive Isaac to bless Jacob.  Of course, Esau had already sold his birthright to Jacob.

Isaac Asks Esau to Hunt for Venison BERTRAM OF MINDEN (1340-1414/15)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/568.html for the source of the above photograp of the painting and notes.

Isaac Blessing Jacob ASSERETO (1600-49)

See http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/fcgi-bin/db2www/descrPage.mac/descrPage?selLang=English&indexClass=PICTURE_EN&Query_Exp=%28WOA_AUTHOR+%3D%3D+%22Assereto%2C+Gioacchino%22%29&PID=GJ-1457&numView=1&ID_NUM=2&thumbFile=%2Ftmplobs%2FS3EG_40E_40KAP5I%2472N6.jpg&embViewVer=last&comeFrom=browse&check=false&sorting=WOA_AUTHOR%5EWOA_NAME&thumbId=6&numResults=2&author=Assereto%2C%26%2332%3BGioacchino for the source of the above photograph of the painting.

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Rebecca at the Well

Rebecca at the Well POUSSIN (1594-1665)

See http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/p/poussin/3/36rebecc.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting and notes.  Although a Frenchman, Poussin spent most of his painting career in Rome.  He is known for his painting on both religious and Greco-Roman subjects.  You see the latter influence in this painting of the scene from Genesis 24:12-38 when Abraham sends his servant to his old country, Ur, to find a wife for Isaac, since the Canaaninte women weren’t fit for him.  Poussin inserts the rural scene in a setting of Classic Antiquity.

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Near Sacrifice of Isaac

Genesis 22:1-13 tells us that God tested Abraham’s loyalty to God by telling him to sacrifice “thy son, thine only son Isaac.”  Abraham obeys and is ready to kill Isaac with his knife when an angel interrupts him and provides him a ram caught in a thicket to sacrifice instead.

The Sacrifice of Isaac  – DIETRICH (1712-1774)

See http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/d/dietrich/sacrific.html for the source of the photograph of the painting and for notes.  As you will see, this painting was based upon an engraving by Rembrandt.  Rembrandt is known for his empathy for his subjects.  There is nothing in the above Bible passage to suggest that Isaac was suspicious of Abraham’s intention to make a sacrifice of him, but in this painting based upon that engraving, Rembrandt imagines Isaac’s unease in helping his father prepare to make a sacrifice for which there is no live object to sacrifice except himself.

Sacrifice of Isaac REMBRANDT (1635)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/274.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting and for notes.  One of the characteristics of the Baroque period both in music and in art is a sense of drama.  One artistic means of providing that is through chiarascura, which spotlighs the subject out of a dark background for dramatic effect.  You see that in each of the paintings shown here, each of which is from that period.

The Sacrifice of Isaac CARAVAGGIO (1573-1610)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/2.html for the source of the photograph of the painting and notes.

See http://www.bcc-la.org/the-binding-of-isaac-in-christian-history-with-petra-verwijs-ph-d/ for an excellent, scholarly Jewish perspective on this subject.

See http://www.onbeing.org/program/children-abraham/feature/canticle-ii-abraham-and-isaac-op-51/2129 for a wonderful interview by Krista Tippett of journalist, Bruce Feiler,  titled Children of Abraham.

See http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/brunelleschi-ghiberti-isaac.html for an insightful expert analysis and comparison of Brunelleschi and Ghiberti panels on the subject.

I recall reading years ago in one of Eric Fromm’s books, perhaps Psychoanalysis and Religion, that he interpreted this story to be a statement that God did not want human sacrifices.  Wikipedia is not recognized as a scholarly source, lacking the review standards of formal research, however, in searching for Eric Fromm’s statement I came across an interesting Wikipedia site that has sufficient references that you may judge its credibility for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_of_Isaac.  Apparently there is significant Jewish history to support Eric Fromm’s statement.

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God Protects and Blesses Hagar and Ishmael

Genesis 21:14-21 follows Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness upon their expulsion.  God does not abandon them, but protects them and promises Hagar that a great nation shall arise from Ishmael.  That Abraham is reported to have had a son with Hagar and six sons with his wife, Keturah, is consistent with the account that God promised to make of Abraham many nations.  Whether that is literally true or not, certainly a number of religious traditions have found their inspiration and source in the figure of Abraham.

Hagar and Ishmael in the Wilderness DUJARDIN

See http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/d/dujardin/hagar.html for the source of the photograph of the above painting and notes.

Hagar and the Angel POUSSIN

See http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/c/claude/3/06hagar.html for the source of the photograph of the above painting, and for a poignant interpretation of the painting.

Hagar and the Angel REMBRANDT (ca. 1655)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/86.html for the source of the above photograph of the pen drawing and a comment.  What I like about the above drawing, besides the skill in its production, is the sense of personal encounter with the Divine in that the angel touches Hagar,s shoulder and she gazes gratefully upon the face of the angel; also I happen to see the depiction of Ishmael as in the style typically rendering Jesus in the manger.  I have in this blog noted Rembrandt’s skill of studying and representing human emotional and behavioral interaction.  That helps to make this drawing personal to me, and even more so to express the Divine’s love for Ishmael, who represents the indigenous people of the area in the Biblical view, now traditionally known as Arabs and followers of Mohammed.

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Abraham Reluctantly Casts Out Hagar and Ishmael

As the Jewish version of the story (which Christians have adopted and the only one I was aware of until recent years) goes, Sarah gives her servant, Hagar, to Abraham to fulfill God’s promise that Abraham would become the father of many nations, something Sara assumes to be impossible through her, an old woman.  Hagar has Ishmael and then Sarah, despite her old age, has Isaac.  That, as might be expected, generates some jealousy.  Genesis 21:1-21 tells the story that Sarah made it clear to Abraham that Abraham’s son, Ishmael, by her servant, Hagar,  was not going to compete with Abraham’s son by Sarah, Isaac; and so, she demands of Abraham: Hagar and Ishmael must go.  The Jewish account, of course, suggests that their own claimed ancestor, Isaac, was the one who God had really intended as heir to Abraham, and that Sarah short circuited the process for lack of faith.  The underlying notion of that story is that Ishmael is the ancestor of other non-Jewish inhabitants of that region, most often perceived by Jews to be their enemies.  Nonetheless,  the story does concede that God promised to make of Abraham the father of many nations.  The biblical story concedes that for Abraham, both Ishmael and Isaac were equally his sons, that he loved each of them, and that he was very much grieved and conflicted over Sarah’s demand.  The story is fascinating for me, both for its expansive and inclusive view of who are “God’s children,” and for the narrow views that have nonetheless been slipped into it.  Perhaps that is an inevitable part of the human condition.  Or is it inevitable?

One aspect of the story that strikes me is that, after all, we are family: every one of us is a child of God.  A corollary might be that there is no such rancor and emotionally toxic byproducts of any feud as with family: such conflicts strike too close to home to be seen objectively.

Here are various aspects of the story as seen through artists’ eyes.

Abraham and Hagar MOSTAERT (c 1474 – 1555/56)

See http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/m/mostaert/jan/abraham.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting and some notes.  You will notice that, as with the biblical scenes of Ghiberti, the painting is not of a single scene at a particular time but is a composite of different scenes and events at different times; also it is cast in the time and style familiar to the artist.  In the background you see the angel protecting Hagar and Ishmael in their wilderness journey that follows.  Perhaps Abraham’s gesture shows his love for Hagar and Ishmael and his reluctance to see them go.  You may see other symbols or expressions as well.  Good art, it seems, not only expresses the artist’s conscious intentions but taps into both universal experiences of  life, even of transcendence, and the particular experiences of the observer.  Good art, in all its forms of expression, invites the observer or listener into it and to participate.

Abraham Casting Out Hagar and Ishmael GUERCINO (1591-1666)

See http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/g/guercino/2/abraham.html for the source of the photograph of the painting and notes.  Whereas Mostaert treats the subject of his painting largely as a narrative story, providing an opportunity to paint a scenic view, Guercino explores the human, emotional side of the story from the point of view of each of the subjects.  Now that provides an interesting study of character and of the conflicts inherent in living and doing “what one must do” to get along.

Hagar and Ishmael Banished by Abraham VERHAGHEN (1728-1811)

See http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/v/verhaghe/hagar_is.html for the source of the photograph of the painting and notes.  This painting also seems to me to be a study in characters and their perspectives. Ishhmael looks to Isaac, who seems to want his brother and friend to stay, as Sarah restrains Isaac  to protect him from some childish indiscretion.  Hagar is stoic, almost contemptuous, and Abraham is conflicted, looking to Hagar as he apparently places his right hand on Hagar’s back, perhaps affectionately, as he motions her way out, obedient to Sarah’s demand.

And finally,

The Expulsion of Hagar CLAUDE (1600-1682)

See http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/c/claude/3/06hagar.html for the source of the photograph of this painting and notes.  I have included this, not because it says anything significant to me, but because it reflects one aspect of humanity that simply wants a feel-good moment in religion, or a religious story or rite that offers us an opportunity for entertainment or to perform, or confirms the imagined validity of our delusions.  Perhaps there is a place for that.  Certainly, not all our religious experiences must be “deep” or serious.

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Lot and His Daughters: Depersonalizing Our Perceived Enemies

I wasn’t going to post on Lot and His Daughters, thinking it a bit risque, with no edifying purpose or artistic value.  I had not included it in the Sunday School survey which preceded this blog.  However, WordPress also automatically generated another “related site” which, upon reading, got me to thinking (see http://apawst8.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/sodom-and-gomorrah/).

The story in Genesis 19:29-38 tells us a drunken, incestuous incident between Lot and his daughters following their escape .  Previously, when warned by the angels of the coming destruction of Sodom, the daughters’ husbands  scoffed at the notion and did not join Lot, his wife and their daughters in their escape.   In addressing the question raised in the above related blog post, I began to think of its value.

What strikes me is how the story serves the purpose of dehumanizing perceived enemies.  We are told that their issue were the Moabites and Ammonites, who failed to greet the Israelites with water when the wandered in the wilderness.  The were “former inhabitants” of the “Promised Land”.   They were idol worshipers, and, because their inhospitality to the Jews they were prohibited from Jewis worship and sacred places.  They were also prohibited participating in Jewish worship because the were inherently blemished because they were illegitimate.  Deuteronomy 23:3-6.

It nonetheless seems to me significant that Ruth, of the book of her name, was a Moabite, converted to Judaism when she pledged her love and loyalty to Naomi, and she is included in the line of David and that to Jesus.

We dehumanize others yet today in our wars, in strained neighborhood relations, competition for limited numbers of jobs, striving for advancement in a threatening world, and the sense of threats posed by immigration, whether controlled, legal or not.

Lot and his Daughters ORAZIO GENTILESCHI (1563–1639)

See http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/gentileschi/ for the source of the picture of the painting and for some excellent notes on the moral dillemna which the scene poses.

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If You Must Escape, Don’t Look Back!

Genesis 19:1-26 tells of the story of Lot escaping Sodom.  Lot’s wife looked back, the account says, and she could go no further: she became a pillar of salt.

Lot and His Daughters CORTE (1597-c. 1660)

See http://www.lib-art.com/artgallery/8569-lot-and-his-daughters-juan-de-la-corte.html for the source of the above photograph.

We see here the old story as rendered in early Baroque style  and cast outside a medieval-looking city.  For the Baroque period, I suppose, that would portray an ancient city and setting.

The Baroque style is characterized by a sense of drama.   In music that dramatic affect is addressed by the Doctrine of Affections which holds that music can affect the emotions by association of mode, key or character; in art it is often depicted in storms of nature (See El Greco’s View of Toledo) and scenes of destruction depicted by a sense of chaotic motion.  Here we see the holy conflagration of fire and brimstone visited upon Sodom and cities of the plains. That chaotic, supernatural effect from the hand of God is amplified by the use of chiaroscuro, a sense of dramatic light bring the viewer’s eye to the flames that consume the city and tornadic activity upon the planes.  In the dark, somber, foreground we see a way of safe passage provided from the city. But it is not joyful.  The angel of God, in providing them escape from God’s anger and rage that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, had warned Lot and his family not to look back as the went.  We see Lot and his daughters grimly press on, keeping there solemn gaze forward, only, as they were instructed.  They dare not look back that Lot’s wife, their their mother looked back.  She has become a pillar of salt as punishment.   They must abandon her, else they also be punished.  One of the two angels who came to warn Lot leads the way and the other guards the rear, save the pillar of salt.

 

Lot Fleeing With His Daughters From Sodom ALBRECHT DURER (c. 1498)

See http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/d/durer/1/02/08lotdau.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting and a description of it.  Albrecht is known for his engravings.  I am particularly fond of the Renaissance characteristics of the painting.  For his biography and his contributions to the world of art, see http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/d/durer/1/02/08lotdau.html .

Having posted this, I see that WordPress has offered the following blog as a related site.  Keep Moving Forward explores in greater depth and detail and on a more personal level my suggestion in this blog.  In the event wordpress changes the related posts, I want to preserve and refer you to it: http://bobbyquitain.wordpress.com/2009/06/30/keep-moving-forward/

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Sarah Laughed

Genesis 18:9-15 tells of the three angels visiting Abraham, one of whom told Abraham that he and Sarah would have a child.  Sarah and Abraham were both very old, and “Sarah laughed within herself.”

Abraham, Sarah and the Angel PROVOST

See http://www.angelfocus.com/studiesprovost.htm for the source of the above photograph and a description of the painting, including interesting symbolism from a Christian interpretation of the story.

Genesis 21:1,2 tells us, “And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.  For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.”

The Angel Appears to Sarah TIEPOLO (1726-28)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/468.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting.  Whether Tiepolo intended to comment so or not, the commentator appears to take the view that the “Lord” appears to humans only through angels.  The commentator interprets “visiting Sarah” as akin to the common Biblical interpretation of a man “knowing” a woman, as inseminating, her.  The commentator comes to that interpretation on the premise that if Sarah was too old to conceive of a man, and God is represented in the flesh as an angel, she conceived only by divine intervention and that via an angel.

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Abraham and the Three Angels

Genesis 18:1-15 tells the story of the three angels visiting  Abraham.  We begin with Marc Chagall’s representation and interpretation of that story in a Jewish tradition.

Abraham and the Three Angels CHAGALL (1960-1966)

See http://www.musees-nationaux-alpesmaritimes.fr/pages/page_id17998_u1l2.htm for the source of the photograph of the above painting.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Chagall for biographical information on Marc Chagall and a general description of his art.

Abraham and the Three Angels EECKHOUT (1656)

See http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/e/eeckhout/abraham.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting and a description.  Eeckhout is also a Dutch painter, a student of Rembrandt.  He has cast the Bible story in a scene contemporary to him.

For brief biographical information on Eeekhout and other paintings by him on biblical subjects, see http://www.biographybase.com/biography/van_den_Eeckhout_Gerbrand.html

This story of Abraham and the Three Angels is carried to the sublime height of Christian theological interpretation inTrinity by Alexander Rublev, the fifteenth-century Russian painter of icons in the  Christian orthodox tradition.

Trinity RUBLEV

See http://tars.rollins.edu/Foreign_Lang/Russian/trinity.html for the source of this photo of the painting and further information on it and Rublev.

In her book, The Case for God, Karen Armstrong describes the symbolism of this painting and its theological significance to the Russian Orthodox Church at pp. 117-118:

One of the most famous icons of all times is The Old Testament Trinity by the fifteenth-century Russian painter Alexander Rublev…based on the story of Abraham and the three strangers, whom Rublev depicts as angels, messengers of the unknowable God. Each represents one of the Trinitarian “persons”; they look interchangeable and can be identified only by their symbolically colored garments and the emblem behind each one. Abraham’s table has become an altar, and the elaborate meal he prepared has been reduced to the Eucharistic cup. The three angels sit in a circle, emblem of perfection and infinity, and the viewer is positioned on the empty side of the table. Immediately Rublev suggests that Christians can experience the truth of the Trinity in the Eucharistic liturgy, in communion with God and one another, and—recalling the Genesis story—in a life of compassion. The central angel representing the Son immediately attracts our attention, yet he does not return our gaze but looks toward the Father, the angel on his right. Instead of returning his regard, the Father directs his attention to the figure at the right of the painting, whose gaze is directed within. We are thus drawn into the perpetual circling motion described by Gregory of Nazianzus. This is not an overbearing deity, demanding exclusive loyalty and total attention to himself. We meet none of the prosopoi [persons] head-on; each refers us to the other in eternal personal dispossession. There is no selfhood in the Trinity. Instead there is silence and kenosis [emptying of self].

A similar view of the three men who visited Abraham, reinterpreted as two angels and the personage of God, is expressed in the below painting:

God and the Angels visit Abraham DE GELDER (1685)

See http://www.artbible.info/art/large/541.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting.  That site also describes some interesting background of the painting and the local Calvanistic objection to it as violating the second commandment.

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Abraham: Father of Many Nations (and Religions)

We have seen that the early stories of Genesis are joined by similar stories in other ancient societies of that region.  We now proceed with Abraham.  Although we have one story of Abraham to my knowledge, that told in the Jewish writings of the Pentateuch, that one account is claimed by three great religions, each of which claims Abraham as their father: Jews, Christians and Muslims.

We often think of his first son, Ishmael, and his second, Isaac.  Genesis also tells us that Abraham had six boys with his wife, Keturah.  And several times Genesis tells us that God promised to make of Abraham great nations.  Genesis 15:1-17:27; 21:1-21.  At Sarah’s insistence after Isaac was born, Abraham reluctantly sends Hagar and Ishmael away.  God does not abandon them, however, but promises Hagar to make of Ishmael a great nation.  Genesis 21:16-21.

Our first art on the subject of Abraham is another panel of the Gates of Paradise by Ghiberti.

The Story of Abraham – LORENZO GHIBERTI (1425-52)
Gilded bronze, Baptistry, Florence

See http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/g/ghiberti/paradiso/5abraham.html for the source of the photograph of the panel and a description.  It is interesting that Ghiberti interprets the life of Abraham as a Christian, using it to foreshadow the sacrifice of Jesus, even the trinity and the eucharist.  I am unaware of how Muslims interpret the story,and I am unaware of any Muslim art interpreting it.  No Muslim art is likely to exist since I understand that Islamic tradition prohibits artistic representation of a person as risking idolatry.

Call to leave Ur and Go to Canaan

Genesis 12:1-9

Abraham’s Journey to Canaan LASTMAN

See http://cgfa.acropolisinc.com/l/p-lastman1.htm for the source of the photograph of the above painting.

I noted previously the Flemish or Dutch painters’  characteristic style of placing Bible subjects in their own contemporary locations and times.  That is again evident in this painting.  One still gets the message that when Abraham left his homeland for Canaan it was an act of great faith.

For all the faith of Abram, later named Abraham, it is interesting that he was willing to give Sarah, his wife, to the powerful leaders of lands through which he passed for his own and his property’s protection.  Genesis 12:10-20; 20:1-17.  In the latter passage, King Abimilek is punished for taking Sarah on Abraham’s representation that she was his sister; he took her into his harem.  God tells Abimilek in a dream that she is Abraham’s wife.  He returns her to Abraham and gives to Abraham many sheep and much money to get them out of his country so he can be relieved of the threat of punishment.  My mother would say that demonstrates that God uses ordinary people with faults, meaning, therefore, God can use us, too.

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Little Tower of Babel

The “Little” Tower of Babel PIETER BRUEGEL (1525-1569)

See http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Pieter_Bruegel_d._%C3%84._076.jpg for the source of the photograph of the above painting.

Part of what I like about Flemish Rennaisance painting is that often the artists see the biblical scene in terms of their own every-day life.  There are advantages to imagining a scene as it might have occurred at the time described; there are other advantages to translating that ancient story into contemporary terms.   In this painting, the tower is built next to a Dutch harbor in classic design.  You see that it has risen above the clouds, thus graphically demonstrating in ancient understanding, the reason that God should fear humankind’s intrusion into God’s doman, presenting a threat to “the gods’ power as described in Genesis 11:1-9.   “Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”  v. 7.  See http://www.all-art.org/early_renaissance/bruegel01biography.html  for an excellent article on Bruegel’s work.

There is a similar Sumerian story written about 2000 B.C.  In that, a god becomes jealous of mankind building a ziggurat (or high rock structure) in honor of another god, so imposes on humankind many different languages.   In both accounts, the gods feel threatened by human power, and so multiple languages are imposed to confound and restrict it.

Sister Wendy Beckett is a highly acclaimed art critic and commentator, early introduced to the public in the Public Broadcasting series, Sister Wendy’s Odyssey. In her Book Of Meditations she offers the following meditation upon the above painting:

Beyond Babel

What silence principally armors us against is Babel: the endless foolish chatter, words used to confound thought, words misused to ward off a friendship or attachments, words as occupation. The Biblical Babel was a metaphor for the loss of human ability to communicate as a consequence of the rise of different languages; but the foreigness of other tongues is a smoke screen. To express what one means, and to hear what another means: this is a rare thing. Babel is profoundly destructive of our energies, as Bruegel so splendidly shows. This monstrous tower is consuming all who labor on or near it. We have an absolute need for quiet for the heart’s wordless resting on God.

We will, on occasion, revisit Sister Wendy’s Book of Meditations and also her book, Sister Wendy’s Grand Tour. She has also written other acclaimed books on western art, including Contemporary Women Artists, Art And The Sacred, Sister Wendy’s Odyssey, Sister Wendy’s Story Of Painting, sister wendy’s book of the saints, and a child’s book of prayer in art. These are published by DK Publishing, Inc, 905Madison Ave, New York, NY 100016. It also has a web page at http://www.dk.com. I highly recommend her books.

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Noah’s Ark

Like the creation story, there are two biblical flood stories.  In the first, Noah is instructed to gather two of each “kind” of animal (this is the popularized version – see Genesis 6:19,20).  In the second, he is instructed to gather seven of every kind of clean animal and bird (that being a number of perfection) and two of every kind of unclean animal – see Genesis 7:2,3.

There is a Chaldean story, from the area that is now Iraq, that is identical in most respects to one of our Genesis flood stories,  similar in other respects, and different in still others (as, how he knew to build the ark, its size and shape, the mountain where it landed and the birds that were sent out after it landed).  In the Chaldean story Ut-Napishtim is the Noah figure.

The first painting, below, is one of my favorite paintings of this subject.  We see Noah tending the animals at the front of the ark.  How chaotic! What a mess!  And that is before they got the animals into the ark and the window presumably closed, since Genesis 8:6 says that  after the rains stopped, the waters subsided, and Noah opened the window.

Front of Noah’s Ark GIOVANNI BENEDETTO CASTIGLIONE (1650)

See http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/c/castigli/noahsark.html for the source of the photograph of the above painting.

Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat HIERONYMIUS BOSCH (1450-1516)

See http://www.abcgallery.com/B/bosch/bosch48.html for the source of the photograph of the above painting.

I like the above painting both for its depiction of the ark’s precarious perch  on the peak of Mount Ararat and, I respect it for its realistic exploration of the horror inherent in the story of the deluge, as described in Genesis.  Bosch’s paintings have a certain earthiness as well as other-worldliness, whether delightful or horrifying, fantastic or nightmarish.  See the fanciful sensuality in the Garden of Earthly Delights, depicting life in the Garden of Eden at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights , or his representation of the evil and grotesque aspects of life, as in Christ Carrying the Cross, http://www.abcgallery.com/B/bosch/bosch56.html .

For a biography of Bosch, see http://www.abcgallery.com/B/bosch/boschbio.html

Finally, we see the artistic expression of this story in an entirely different graphic medium: wool and silk on woolen warp, or tapestry:

God the Father Establishing His Covenant with Noah WILLEM DE PANNEMAKER

(1567)

See http://www.lib-art.com/artgallery/35216-god-the-father-establishing-his-covenant-with-noah-pannemaker-willem-de.html for the source of the photograph of the above painting.

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Cain and Abel

Cain and Abel LORENZO GHIBERTI (1425-1452)

See http://www.wga.hu/art/g/ghiberti/paradiso/3kilabel.jpg for the source of the above photograph of the painting.

Cain and Abel is one panel of several Old Testament scenes in a door to the Florence Baptistry, called Gates of Paradise .  Ghiberti uses a technique called relievo schiacciato, which is akin to sculpture on a relatively flat surface.  For information on Ghiberti and these gates, see http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/florence/ghibertiparadise/ghibertiparadise.html

For a biography of Ghiberti, see http://www.artist-biography.info/artist/lorenzo_ghiberti/

Cain and Abel TINTORETTO (1518-1594)

See http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/t/tintoret/6/04abel.html for the source of the above photograph of the painting and a description.

For a biography of Tintoretto, see http://www.artinthepicture.com/artists/Tintoretto/Biography/

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Remembering Victims of Violence

In the wake of violence in Tucson and Omaha, and continuing war about the globe, it seems appropriate to reflect on artistic expressions of the human costs of violence in all its forms.  Picasso’s Guernica is a well-known symbol of the grief and destruction wrought by violence, in that case the bombardment of the Spanish city,  Guernica.

Guernica PICASSO

See http://www.artchive.com/artchive/P/picasso/guernica.jpg.html for the source of the photograph of the above painting.

For history of the actual bombing, see http://www.spanish-fiestas.com/art/picasso-guernica.htm

The painting can speak to you for itself, but to explore another’s view of the symbolism of Guernica and history of the painting, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_(painting).  I recognize that Wikipedia is not subject to peer review, however, it also often provides some non-technical analysis or information on a subject that, if the reader desires, can be inquired into in greater depth and at sites that are subject to more rigorous academic standards.

Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

Matthew 5:4

In a different artistic medium, Brahms wrote a beautiful musical setting to the above text and its context in the first chorus of his German Requiem.  Samuel Barber’s Adagio is frequently comforting in times of grief such as this.

 

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The Wonder of Creation

My sister, Esther Palmer, painted a series of murals for a Congregational church in her hometown in Vermont.  She used the language of a different artistic style for each day of creation.   You may recognize the style of The Sixth Day as that of Chagall.

The Sixth Day ESTHER WHEELER PALMER

Seventh Day ESTHER WHEELER PALMER

The subjects of this painting are her husband, Tony, and daughter, Aiden.

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Creation Expressed in Similar Language But With Different Contexts and Interpretations

I hear in our Sunday School class, and even in my own parents’  faith talk, certain phrases or expressions that are similar in some respects, but have different meanings when explored, or are different in other respects yet refer to the same or similar concepts or experiences.  Likewise with art:  art speaks individually and personally.

Medieval art was crude in the ways it artistically represented the physical world.  There are several reasons for that.  For one, upon the fall of Europe from Roman dominance into the Dark Ages, although the art of mosaic had developed, artistic expression in painting was very limited.  The precursor of modern painting developed in the Catholic Church in the form of Illuminated manuscripts, which initially appeared as the Biblical copyist’s artistic and colorful embellishment of the first letter of a section of script.  Later copyists might incorporate into that first letter a miniature painting of subjects or scenes in that section.  As painting developed during the Medieval Period into a larger scale production, skills were nonetheless crude.  The artist’s mental image of a subject or estimation of each element’s value was often more important than the actual image of the subject, so that little children were often depicted with child-like, even cherubic, bodies capped with an adult face; there was no sense of perspective, as that did not develop until the Renaissance; rounded figures appeared flat on the painted surface for lack of modeling to give the appearance of the play of light upon a real, 3-D subject; in Middle Age Scholasticism the principal theological discussion may have been on how many angels could fit on the head of a pin, or how evil spirits lurked in dark places, manipulating the physical world to their twisted purposes, grotesque, imaginary figures flew about the painting, wreaking havoc in a fragile world; animals often had human qualities; and the artist often obviously projected onto the painted object his or her feelings or ideas about the subject.

Creation of the Animals by Master  Bertram (1345-1415) is a late Medieval painting that demonstrates both the representational style and thinking of those times.

Creation of the Animals by MASTER BERTRAM

See http://www.flickr.com/photos/32357038@N08/4314988398/ for the source of the photograph of the above painting.

In the early Twentieth Century, long after the  development of perspective, modeling and richly realistic techniques, there was a reaction to then contemporary realistic, representative art.  Whereas the style of painting during the Medieval period reflected the attitudes and beliefs of that day, often unconsciously for the lack of a developed natural,  realistic, representative technique, in the Twentieth Century artists often discovered that a representational style might “fool the eye” but did little to express thoughts, feelings or ideas.  They often found that unconventional use of earlier, often primitive forms and techniques, could express what representative styles could not.

Marc Chagall (1887 – 1985) early discovered that a conventional, realistic style ill-served his purposes in painting.  He passed from a representational phase through Cubism, Symbolism and Fauvism, and finally settled on a style that would seem to have much in common with Master Bertram’s Creation of the Animals, above.

 Creation by CHAGALL

See http://www.flickr.com/photos/82764856@N00/89300990/ for the source of the photograph of the above painying.

Despite some overt similarities between the two paintings, they speak from different times, different backgrounds, different values and belief systems; they share a sense of wonder at creation; but, beyond that, the intended expressions are quite different.   For a readable and accessible discussion of the art and times of Marc Chagall see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Chagall

My friend, Mariah, who has an art history minor from University of Nebraska, Omaha, notes that the same painting will have different effects or meanings to different people.  She says, “With all art, the visual scene simply does not do the painting justice.  The composition is merely the start.  It’s the viewer’s interpretation, the artist’s motives, and historical background that really exposes the heart and soul of the painting.  I hope you enjoy these three!”

H. Marie, refers me to a painting relating to the scene of the Garden of Eden that utilizes such a mixture of odd objects, environments and positioning to tap into the subconscious and symbolize much more complex expressions: Bosch, Garden of Earthly Delights  –  Beware the Perils of Temptation!   She says, “This triptych always catches my attention; each time I look at it I see something new. Reading about the piece is just as fascinating as viewing it.  Symbolism at the time was important to the artist so it can almost become a game or a soap opera finding hidden meanings within it.  Enjoy!”

The painting is a triptych, consisting of a central panel and two side panels:

Garden of Earthly Delights  –  Beware of the Perils of Temptation! BOSCH

See http://www.spanisharts.com/prado/bosch.htm for the source of the above photograph of the painting and notes on it and each of its parts, consisting of the left panel of Paradise, middle panel of Earthly Delights, and right panel of Hell, a place reserved for the results of immoral dabbling in the earthly delights.  The above site indicates in its notes that Bosch curiously painted his self-portrait in the center of Hell.  In order to help you explore these paintings, as Mariah, suggests, I will insert each separately, again derived from the above site:

Mariah also refers the reader to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights for other sources of photographs of the paintings and notes exploring its symbolism and expression.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieronymus_Bosch for an excellent interpretation of Bosch, his Surrealistic style predating the Twentieth Century, and his orthodoxy despite the uniqueness of that representational style.

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BLAKE: Testimonies About God, God’s Activities and God’s Relationship to Humankind

We see in Blake an entirely different expression of the experience of God in Elohim Creating Adam BLAKE, below, http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=1119&tabview=work,

and in God as an an Architect BLAKE, below, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urizen,

[Click on the links, above, where the picture and description of the painting may be accessed.]

and a God who relates to us personally through nature, as in God Answers Job Out of the Whirlwind, below,

Is it possible for any one representation of God or God’s activities to offer a complete picture?  Is it possible that we each will experience the Divine in ways that are unique to us?  If we accept that “God speaks” to us individually, are we more likely to appreciate expressions of the the experience of the Divine that are different from our own, even those that may appear to conflict with our own?

I understand that the Hindu greeting between persons with a bow and with palms pressed together and pointed upward in a prayer-like attitude, is an acknowledgement of the deity in the other.  If we see that others are also “made in the image of God” will we tend to be more respectful of them?

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Creation of Adam MICHELANGELO

Creation of Adam MICHELANGELO

Obtained from http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/m/michelan/3sistina/1genesis/6adam/06_3ce6.html

There are two different Genesis accounts of creation: The first is Genesis 1:1-2:3 in which we have the common story of creation in six days; the second is Genesis 2:4-25 in which the order of creation is different: God creates man first, then the animals and brings them to Adam for naming, and then God creates Eve from Adam’s rib.  The first is generally cited by Christians (and perhaps Jews and Muslims) as giving the correct order of creation, of which man and woman are the final and crowning glory.  Many also cite it as determining periods of one day for each act of creation; the second is cited by Christians (Jews and Muslims?) primarily for the story of the seperate acts of creation of Adam and of Eve.  Michelangelo takes the second story of the creation of Adam for the theme of his painting, Creation of Adam, on the ceiling of the Cistine Chapel.  Is he saying this is literally what happened?  Or is he saying that Adam was “made in the image of God?” Or is he commenting on what it means that “man” is created in the image of God?,”  Can it be all of these?

I had read of a medical doctor’s (I think a neurologist) interpretation of  Michaelangelo’s Creation of Adam as God imbuing man with the gift of the brain and intelligence.  I thought that was a novel interpretation, but when I presented that painting to my Sunday School class, Shari, a mental health counselor, immediately exclaimed, “Why that is the human brain and brain stem!”

Teilhard de Chardin attributes the phenomenon of human intellect and self-awarenessas to a function of  highly complex organization of matter in the human brain.  See http://www.godweb.org/chardin.htm  What is interesting to me in de Chardin’s statement is that it would suggest that the difference between the human brain and that of other animals is one of degree, not of kind.  The other aspect of de Chardin that I admire is his wedding of matter with spirit, rather than the historical dualistic separation of the two.

Dietrich von Bonhoeffer wrote the following meditation on this painting:

THE LOVE OF THE CREATOR FOR THE CREATURE

“Sleeper, awake!  Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you”  (Eph. 5:14).  This is also what Michelangelo meant.  Resting on the young earth, Adam is so solidly and intimately connected with the ground on which he lies that in his still dreamy existence, he himself is quite unusual, quite miraculous, and yet still a bit of earth; indeed, it is precisely this complete unity with the blessed soil of the created earth that reveals the full glory of the first human being.  And in this resting on the earth, in this deep sleep of creation, the man now experiences life through bodily contact with the finger of God – it is the same hand that made the man that now touches him from a distance and awakens him to life.  The hand of God does not hold the man nearer, clasped in his grip, but sets him free, and its creative power becomes the longing love of the Creator for the creature.  The hand of God in this picture in the Sistine chapel reveals more knowledge about the creation than many a profound speculation.

From, I Want to Live These Days with You.

It seems to me remarkable that the ancient stories in the Bible maintain so much of their original form despite developments in Judaism diverging from the literal myth; likewise that through Christian transmission of those sacred documents there is no obvious manipulation of those stories to justify Christian doctrine. Therefore, it seems to me that the form of those mythologies that were passed on are likely consistent with the original myths, themselves.

Accepting that, my following commentary will be based upon the myths, as stated in scriptures which are shared by Judaism with Christianity and Islam. If that is objectionable, how does one explain the literal differences between the first creation myth and the second, which incorporates the story of the Garden of Eden?

Since the second story of creation and the Garden of Eden are the basis of later Christian concepts of original sin, I will begin with a discussion of that story:

The second story begins in Genesis 2:4, at which time no plant had emerged. In Genesis 2:6 and 7 we are told that “the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Then God planted a garden in Eden, where he placed the man. Thereafter, God causes every tree to grow, including the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Then, God places man in the garden (Genesis 2:15). God tells the man that he may eat of any tree except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). Then, because “it is not good that the man should be alone” God creates the animals, and Adam is given the right to name them. But God finds that the animals do not adequately provide the man with help, so God places him into a deep sleep and from the man’s rib God forms woman and brings her to Adam (Genesis 2:20 – 23). And so, Adam and Eve roamed the Garden of Eden.

A serpent presents itself to Eve and convinces her that the fruit of the forbidden tree is good, and she presents it to Adam. Their eyes were opened and they knew they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves to cover themselves. Then one day, as God is walking through the garden, when he calls for Adam. Adam admits that when he heard God’s voice, he was afraid because he was naked; therefore he hid. Genesis 3:1 – 11. Yes, God punishes Adam to a life of toil, Eve to bear children in pain and to be submissive to Adam, and the snake to slither upon the ground (Genesis 3:14 – 19). God does not evict Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden because of their disobedience, but rather, because the Lord God and the other gods discovered that Adam had become as one of them, to know good and evil; and they feared that he would also eat of the tree of life and live forever (Genesis 3:22, 23).

So what does the story tell us? Life is hard work and pain, but man and woman are infused with the breath of God. In the first story, Genesis 1:26, the Lord God says, “let us make man in our image after our likeness.”
Nothing in the story indicates that man sinned or that his or her offspring would inherit sin: only that paradise was lost.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_of_Adam for an excellent and in depth analysis of the painting.

Read what Frank Lynn Meshberger, MD wrote of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam at:

http://www.wellcorps.com/Explaining-The-Hidden-Meaning-Of-Michelangelos-Creation-of-Adam.html

For an excellent video showing the location of the above painting of Michelangelo, its context in the Sistine Chapel and expert analysis and commentary on that chapel and its art, see http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/sistine-chapel-ceiling.

See http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/michelangelo.html?searched=Creation+Adam+MICHELANGELO&highlight=ajaxSearch_highlight+ajaxSearch_highlight1+ajaxSearch_highlight2+ajaxSearch_highlight3 for for poetry by Michelangelo concerning the link between the art of sculpture, the human body and God.

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Background and Use of This Site

An Allegory of the Bible WILLIAM BLAKE

The painting, above, may be found at http://www.museumsyndicate.com/item.php?item=611

My dear friends, I originally posted this page on January 21, 2011, over three years ago. At that time I conceived of this blog as an exploration of biblical interpretations as revealed in the paintings, sculptures, mosaics, and other artistic expressions, as reflected and inspired by my Sunday school class.

I recently revised my home page a second time.  You will see that this blog has developed a life of its own, not unlike the lives of each of us, revealing to us experiences and places beyond our wildest dreams as children.

As indicated on my home page, I have only recently recognized that this blog reveals little of me, except as it may ooze to the surface of what I believe to be a sound, scholarly examination of Christian art, architecture, music, philosophy and theology. Accepting that this blog has merely reflected my intellection, I will now attempt to reveal what Robert E Wheeler believes and how he, personally, responds to each of these sections of his blog. I can’t wait to meet this guy. I hope I like him, and if I don’t, I hope I will surrender him to his Higher Power, my Higher Power, trusting that I may grow into the likeness, the image, of God, my Higher Power, an image we each uniquely reflect: many bodies, many names, many cultures, but each participating in one Great Spirit.  For me, this is nowhere expressed so vividly, yet simply and beautifully as in the first verse of the Tao, cited in Dr. Wayne W Dyer’s book, Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao:

1^st Verse

The Tao that can be told

is not the eternal Tao.

The name that can be named

is not the eternal name.

The Tao is both named and nameless.

As nameless it is the origin of all things;

as named it is the Mother of 10,000 things.

Ever desireless, one can see the mystery;

ever desiring, one sees only the manifestations.

And the mystery itself is the doorway

to all understanding.

 

In my original post with regard to the first section on the graphical arts, I gave this introduction:

I had gathered from the internet pictures of art masterpieces from around the world that were inspired by Biblical scenes from Genesis through Revelation.  I led our Sunday School through a six month study of those masterpieces.

My undergraduate degree was in band and vocal music.  I also taught the humanities.   I have maintained an avid interest in the visual arts, but have no formal education in them.  I learned a lot from my Sunday School’s observations of the paintings, and this will be a great opportunity to learn from others who visit this site.

The Sunday School class preferred to read the accompanying scripture and simply explore the painting.  I projected the painting on a television screen as we read the scripture.  Most usually I would ask, “What do you see?”  Verbalizing such observations often led to other observations or questions of “what is that?” or “and I see. . .”  The class loved to explore the painting and through that might ask what the painter meant to “say” or express in the painting or, like any good art, they might be led to an interpretation that arose from the experiences they brought to the scripture or the painting.  Good art does that.  These works of art could be used as a focus of individual meditation or as the basis of group discussion of the scripture, the subject or the art.

I will select certain masterpieces for single post study, provide links to the internet sites where the pictures of the paintings and comments of others may be found, and I may make my own observations.  My Sunday School class loved the study.  I hope you enjoy it, also.

I expect that my daughter, H. Marie, will join me in this blog.  She minored in Art History in college, therefore has specific training for this undertaking, and she has a great appreciation for and understanding of great art.

I welcome any comments or observations you may have concerning interpretation or analysis of the painting as it relates to the scripture.

For expert advice on how to get the most of your viewing of the following art masterpieces, see http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/skill-of-describing.html.  It also contains video concerning aesthetics relating to  the visual arts representation and abstract, concepts, and contexts, and related subjects.

next page: https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/creation-of-adam-michelangelo/

previous page: https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/the-bible-through-artists-eyes/

Links to my site:

Introduction

https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts

https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture

https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

Music

https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iii-music/

Theology

https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iv-theology/

Home Page

https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/

The Bible Through Artists’ Eyes:

WELCOME my Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Islamic, Atheistic, Agnostic, and Christian friends.

We are more related than outward appearances would seem to indicate.  The details of our relational stories of truth, like our different clothes and cultures, are unique; we share the human spirit, “the breath of God;”  and that great ocean of transcendent truth is revealed personally to all.

The exclusionist in religion does not see that he shuts the door of heaven on himself, in striving to shut out others.

Emerson.

He who knows only one religion knows none.

Prof. Max Müller

The same thing which is now called the Christian religion existed among the ancients. They have begun to call Christian the true religion which existed before.

St. Augustine

To connect with the great river we all need a path, but when you get down there there’s only one river.

Matthew Fox

As each of us has unique family stories, we also have unique mythological stories.  Myth is not fiction; rather it is metaphorical, poetical.  It helps us to orient from our own physical being and environment to that Nameless Being which is the Ground of all Being – that one great river.

See https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2014/12/06/preface-to-universal-truths-expressed-in-myth/

I am an inclusive Christian.  Jesus was inclusive.  It doesn’t matter in whose name you share your miracles of love.  “By their fruits you will know them.”  What better expression of such good fruits than through the eyes of Vincent Van Gogh?

The Good Samaritan VINCENT VAN GOGH

Source: http://www.abcgallery.com/V/vangogh/vangogh56.html.  What interests me most about this painting is that the outcast, the Samaritan, is aiding the man who was badly beaten and left at the side of the road, whereas his own religious leaders are retreating into the background.  It demonstrates in the concrete what it means to be a good neighbor.

Too much of religion is divisive.  On April 26, 2007, Krista Tippet of NPR’s Speaking of Faith asked Jimmy Carter if he could explain why the end of the Cold War did not bring peace, but rather the eruption of violence throughout the world. His answer was, “fundamentalism”:

[T]hey assume that they have a rare or unique relationship with God Almighty, whatever god they define, and their beliefs, therefore, are ordained by God. And since their beliefs are God’s beliefs, they are infallible. They cannot make a mistake or acknowledge a mistake. Anyone who disagrees with them, by definition, is wrong because ‘the disagreement is with me and with God.

Right belief was not Jesus’ message, however.  In Matthew 25, Jesus teaches that all those who loved their neighbor in tangible ways, fed the hungry, comforted those who were hurting or visited those in prison are welcomed “into the Kingdom to receive your just reward”.  In that passage, the reward of the Kingdom was available to everyone who bore good fruits.  He imposed no conoditions of religion, orientation, nation or clan. One aspect of this story that interests me is that those who bore good fruits were surprised at their reward wheras those who did not bear good fruits were surprised at their punishment.  Whether this statement is literal or metaphorical, it seems there might be some in the latter group who “knew they were saved” but did not bear good fruit.

Truly we are One!

In February, 2010, I wrote My Bible Story and Picture Book for children, which you are welcome to adapt as you see fit, use and share.

Wishing you the blessings of peace and love,

Robert Wheeler

next page: https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/invitation-to-healing-the-bible-through-artists-eyes/