Custom Search
|
||||||
BIBLE ART GALLERY |
|
|||||
| Paintings
by
Brueghel the Elder,
William Bell Scott, Ghiberti, Hicks, Danby, Dali, Adams, John
Everett Millais, Bassano, Wesley, Cole, Michelangelo, Antonio Carracci, Bellini
|
NOAH |
|
||||
|
|
||||||
SCROLL DOWN FOR PAINTINGS |
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
_________________________________________________ |
||||||
|
BUILDING THE ARK 'and God said: Make yourself an Ark....' |
||||||
|
Title: 'The Entry of the Animals into Noah's Ark' Artist: Jan Brueghel the Elder Year: 1613 Incident shown: The ark is not shown, but must be in the vicinity somewhere, since the animals are assembling at Noah's command. He herds them as they mingle peacefully together. Bible reference: Genesis 6-7 Comment: Brueghel manages to convey the plethora of animals and birds Noah had to collect. As if aware of their special status as saviors of their species, they mingle peacefully together. The birds at least seem to be arriving of their own volition, flocking in from afar. Jan Brueghel the Elder has painted the sky sunny and clear: there is no hint of what is to come. It is an idyllic scene of abundant Nature, with Noah's family picnicking on the banks of the stream. But the clock is ticking.... For more on Noah, go to BIBLE PEOPLE: NOAH: HUMBLE MAN IS SUPERHERO
|
|||||
| _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
||||||
|
|
Title: 'Noah's
Ark'
Artist: Franzosischer Meister 'The French Master' Year: circa 1675 Incident shown: Noah warns the people about the impending disaster, but they listen to him with amused skepticism. Undeterred, he rallies the troops to keep on building, while behind him the storm clouds begin to gather. Bible reference: Genesis 6 Comment: On the left side, there is lassitude, as the populace listens with amusement to Noah's warnings. But the right side of the painting is a hive of activity, as the sons of Noah work frantically to complete the ark before the clouds above them darken any more. The French Master has captured the urgency of the moment - and something of the futility of warning people about the consequences of their actions. The Franzosischer
Meister has placed an Arcadian, or perhaps medieval town
behind Noah. Go to
|
|||||
|
___________________________________________________________________________________
|
||||||
|
Title: 'The Eve of the Deluge' Artist: William Bell Scott (1811-1890) Year: 1865 Incident shown: The rich, wicked inhabitants of the earth look on with amusement as Noah labors to complete the ark. Their luxury and indolence are equated with evil - a common attitude of the Victorian era. Bible reference: Genesis 6 Comment: These are the people the Bible describes in the words: '...the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only towards evil.' The dissipated people on this balcony cannot rouse themselves to action. They are enjoying the evening sunlight. But on the horizon a great cloud begins to form, gathering volume and strength. Note: Noah was decidedly counter-cultural in his worship of a single god, placing himself at odds with the established religions of the ancient world. See BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: ZIGGURATS for photographs and reconstructions of the ziggurats at Ur, where the story of the Flood may have originated.
|
|||||
|
_______________________________________________________________________________________
|
||||||
|
GOING INTO THE ARK 'two by two, they went into the Ark....' |
||||||
|
|
Title: 'Story of Noah' Artist: Lorenzo Ghiberti 1378 - 1455 Year: circa 1420 Incident shown: In the top section, Noah warns his family about the impending deluge; the animals begin moving towards him. In the bottom right, Noah and his family offer sacrifice to God on the altar they have built. In the bottom right Noah lies drunk on the floor while his sons talk in the background. Bible reference: Genesis 6-9 Comment: This panel from the Gates of Paradise in Florence is a composite of the different parts of the story. Curiously, Ghiberti seems to have given prominence to the story of Noah's drunkenness - this is the part of the panel that captures the eye first. The story of the Deluge is relegated to second or even third place. Perhaps Ghibert wished to focus on the aftermath of the Flood, and what humanity would do with its second chance.
|
|||||
|
____________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
![]() |
Title: 'Noah's Ark' Artist: Edward Hicks Year: 1846 Incident shown: The animals enter two by two, and in this case the lambs and the lions are together, unconcerned by each other's presence. The ark waits to receive them, while storm clouds gather behind them. Bible reference: Genesis 7 Comment: This charming naive painting shows the animals entering the ark in a mood of serene harmony. Order is the order of the day. Meanwhile chaos, in the form of the ominous storm clouds behind the ark, is approaching. Between the order of the animals and the chaos of the clouds stands the ark, waiting to receive anyone who will enter.
|
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
![]() |
Title: Child's toy Artist: Unknown Year: 18th or 19th century Incident shown: A model of the ark as it might have looked if the Flood had occurred in the 18-19th century. Bible reference: Genesis 7 Comment: Art comes in all forms, and this model of the ark built as instruction for a child, shows the way the stories of the Bible permeated daily life during the 19th century. Preserved at the Manchester Art Gallery, the maker of this model seemed comfortable imposing 19th century architecture onto the mythic world of Noah.
|
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
|
THE FLOOD 'the windows of the heavens opened....' |
||||||
![]() |
Title: 'The Deluge' Artist: Francis Danby (1793-1861) Year: 1840 Incident shown: The overpowering fury of the storm washes hapless humanity away from the rock they cling to. Earth and sky are full of water. Bible reference: Genesis 7 Comment: Danby specialized in paintings with epic subjects - this one is typical. Water dominates the landscape, and humans are dwarfed by it. In the background, under a single shaft of moonlight, is the ark. It is the only thing that seems calm. The waters swirl, dragging animals and people as they desperately try to cling to the mountain peak, now almost overwhelmed.
|
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
![]() |
Title: 'Aquae diluvii super terram' Artist: Salvador Dali Year: 1964 Incident shown: The Flood itself dominates this painting; behind it, however, the light surrounding the ark and the dove draw the viewer's eye. Bible reference: Genesis 7 Comment: This
terrifying image of a monstrous floor has poignant significance. Dali
painted it after the 1962
flash flood in
|
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
![]() |
Title: 'The Flood' Artist: Norman Adams RA (1927-2005) Year: 1970's Incident shown: Massive storm clouds in the form of water flasks gather over the earth, ready to spill their contents. Bible reference: Genesis 7 Comment: In 1967 Adams was commissioned by the Oxford University Press to illustrate parts of the Old Testament. This is one of the paintings in that series. He had produced scenery for the Royal Ballet at Covent Gardens, and 'The Flood' has something of the drama and scale of a stage set. Adams' imaginative use of water flasks as storm clouds adds an extra dimension, since it suggests that the water will pour out in volume, rather than fall in rain. For additional information
on Adams, probably the most significant British religious painter of his
generation, see http://normanadamsra.co.uk
|
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
|
SAFE IN THE ARK 'and the Lord shut him in....' |
||||||
|
|
Title:
'The Deluge the Ark of Noah Drifting on the Water
Artist: Illustrator Petrus Comestors Bible Historials France Year: 1372 Incident shown: Noah and his family are inside the ark, safe from the swirling waters around them. God has locked them in, and the ladder falls away from the entrance. Bible reference: Genesis 7 Comment: This beautiful manuscript illustration shows the anxious faces not only of the humans inside the ark, but the birds and animals as well. Noah, wearing a medieval cap, faces his wife, also in medieval headdress. Their sons stand close to each wife, supporting each other in this terrifying situation. Notice that the ark is in the shape of a shell: it holds the seed of a new humanity, a new beginning for the earth.
|
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
|
|
Title:
Untitled picture of Noah and his family
Artist: stained glass Master, Marienkirche, Germany Year: late 14th century Incident shown: Noah (at left), his wife (bottom left) and family shelter in the safety of the neatly tile-roofed ark, while the waters foam beneath them. Bible reference: Genesis 7 Comment: This stained glass window originally formed part of the Marienkirche, but was transferred from Germany to the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg during World War II. It is primitive in design, but effective nevertheless. Each face is different, individual - but all are somber. They seem uncertain that their little ark will survive the cataclysm outside.
|
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
|
|
Title:
'The Return of the Dove to the Ark'
Artist: Sir John Everett Millais Year: 1851 Incident shown: Inside the art Noah's family shelters - including the young wives of his three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth. These are two of the young wives, fondling one of the young doves that Noah has collected. Bible reference: Genesis 8 Comment: The rain has stopped and the Flood is beginning to subside. But is it safe yet to leave the ark? Noah sends out a raven. It cannot find a tree in which to roost. Noah waits, then sends out a dove. It returns, unable to find a footing. Again Noah waits, then sends out the dove, hoping it will find a resting place. It returns with an olive twig in its beak. Noah then knows that trees are appearing above the water. Millais has shown this moment. The two young women fondle the dove, now a signal of hope for them all.
|
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
|
|
Title:
'Noah'
Artist: Frank Wesley Year: 1980's Incident shown: Noah opens a hatch in the side of the ark and releases the dove, hoping it will give him some sign that the waters have receded. Bible reference: Genesis 8 Comment: The themes and stories of Christianity have universal appeal. Here is an Indian interpretation of the story of Noah - note the design of the ark, based on Indian boats. The dove leaving Noah's hand seems almost an extension of Noah himself; both are straining upwards out of the darkness of the ark interior. See BIBLE TOP TEN: NOAH for Noah as a hero, a good man in a wicked world.
|
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
|
LEAVING THE ARK 'Then Noah went out....' |
||||||
|
Title: 'The Subsiding of the Waters of the Deluge' Artist: Thomas Cole Year: 1829 Incident shown: The deluge has ceased, the waters are receding, and a new dawn opens up for the Earth. Bible reference: Genesis 8 Comment: The most startling quality of this painting is the clarity of light . It is as if the whole world has been washed clean of every tarnish, and now lies ready for a new dawn. Certainly wreckage is strewn in the forefront of the painting, and the ground is still awash with the receding floodwater, but light coming from some point at the right of the picture seems to announce the new world that God is offering Noah. Cole seems to suggest that this is the scene that greeted Noah when he removed the covering from the door of the ark.
|
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
|
BUILDING THE ALTAR 'Then Noah built an altar to the Lord....' |
||||||
![]() |
Title: 'The Sacrifice of Noah' Artist: Michelangelo Year: 1508-12 Incident shown: The first thing that Noah did when he and his family left the ark was to build an altar and offer sacrifice to God, in thanks for their deliverance. Bible reference: Genesis 8:20 Comment: Noah and his family heap up the sacrificial flames as they prepare to make an offering of thanksgiving to God. Michelangelo has represented each member of the family here - none are omitted. Notice the detail of the slaughtered animals, and of the son with muscles straining under the load of firewood. For a reconstruction of a
sacrificial altar from biblical times, see the Beersheba altar at
|
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
![]() |
Title: 'The Sacrifice of Noah' Artist: Jacopo Bassano (c.1515-1592) Year: circa 1574 Incident shown: The ground is strewn with wreckage, but Noah and his family build an altar to God in thanksgiving for their safe passage through the disaster of the Flood, then set to at their task of rebuilding. Bible reference: Genesis 8:20 Comment: The wreckage caused by the floodwaters is all too evident in the painting by Bassano. He concentrates on the task that Noah and his family face: of rebuilding a home and beginning all over again. The ground is strewn with their possessions, and the men have already set to in an attempt to provide shelter. The women do what women always do in a bad situation: get a meal going. Only the animals look nonplussed, dazed. In the background, removed from this hive of activity, Noah prays to God in thanks for the deliverance of his family. |
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
|
|
Title: 'Noah's Ark' Artist: unknown Italian artist Year: Late 16th century Incident shown: Noah raises his hands in a prayer of thanksgiving to God. The ark has come to rest on firm ground at last. Bible reference: Genesis 8:20 Comment: This miniature agate carving was originally from the collection of the Duke d'Orleans. It was a devotional object for personal prayer, and presumably the person who carried it would be inspired by Noah's prayerful attitude to thank God as Noah had done for deliverance and safety.
|
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
![]() |
Title: 'Noah's Altar' Artist: Antonio Carracci Year: not known Incident shown: The flames of the sacrificial altar rise up, so that 'the Lord smelled the pleasing odor'. Noah and his family give thanks to God, who promises never again to destroy the earth with water. Bible reference: Genesis 8:20 Comment: Notice the ark to the right of the painting, behind Noah. It is perched rather precariously on the peak of Mount Ararat. Notice too that most of the family have their backs turned towards it, and are focusing instead of the altar of thanksgiving. They must turn away from the past and focus instead on the future, and on worship of the God who saved them.
|
|||||
|
____________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
|
THE DRUNKEN NOAH 'He drank some of the wine....'
|
||||||
|
|
Title:
'Shem and Japhet Cover the Nakedness of their Father'
Artist: unknown stained glass artist Year: late 14th century Incident shown: Noah, the first tiller of the soil, has planted grape vines, harvested them and made them into wine. But he has drunk too much and is now incapacitated. One son, Ham has seen him in this state and reported it to his brothers. They seem to debate what they should do. Bible reference: Genesis 9 Comment: This surprisingly graphic portrayal of Noah's nakedness was presumably part of a window in a church. Noah holds his head - his glum expressions is a signal he is already feeling the aftereffects of too much wine. His two sons carefully avoid looking at his exposed genitals. They, unlike their brother Ham, respect their father even when his conduct does not deserve it. Note: The Bible presents
Noah as the first farmer - see
|
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
![]() |
Title: 'The Drunken Noah' Artist: Giovanni Bellini Year: 1500-1515 Incident shown: Noah has fallen drunkenly to the floor, and Ham is laughing - not just at his father's inebriation, but at his nakedness. Bible reference: Genesis 9 Comment: The laughter of Ham denoted a lack of respect, and in the hierarchical tribal system this was a serious flouting of protocol. Shem and Japheth, on the other hand, both avert their eyes from Noah's nakedness. Noah seems oblivious to it all, and his body is bathed in a curious golden glow, perhaps denoting the oblivion of drunken sleep. The grapes and cup have fallen to the floor. At the beginning of his career, Giovanni Bellini was influenced by Mantegna (his brother-in-law). In his earlier religious studies are found the hard clarity, the stiff draperies and severity of drawing that characterise the Paduan school. But later in his career, in Venice, he became more romantic, his painting richer in color, softer and more technically skilled - as in 'The Drunken Noah'.
|
|||||
|
_____________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
![]() |
Title: 'The Drunkenness of Noah' Artist: Michelangelo Buonarroti Year: 1509 Incident shown: Two of the brothers, Shem and Japheth, avert their eyes from their father's naked body, while one of them attempts to cover Noah with a piece of cloth. Bible reference: Genesis 9 Comment: This painting is part of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. At the left is an image of Noah, the first tiller of the soil. But the main part of the painting shows the drunken Noah, unaware of his own nakedness. One son points this out to his brothers, who try to cover Noah. Curiously, Michelangelo has shown all of the men naked, suggesting that it is not the nakedness that is the problem, but Ham's mirth at his defenseless father's predicament.
|
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
|
|
Title:
Flask with scenes of Noah's Intoxication
Artist: Unknown Italian artist Year: 1540's Incident shown: Noah falls helplessly to the ground, overcome by too much wine. One son, Ham, laughs at his father's nakedness, while the other two, Shem and Japheth, avert their eyes. They will not share in Ham's derision of his father. Bible reference: Genesis 9 Comment: Again, the artist has shown all the men in this picture naked. Lack of clothes, therefore, was not the problem. It was the son's lack of respect for his father, even when his father could not be said to deserve it, that was the pivotal offense calling forth God's punishment. Ham, who laughed, would be the father of the Canaanites, despised enemies of the Hebrew people.
|
|||||
|
______________________________________________________________________________
EXTRA WEBSITES: stories, photographs, reconstructions Noah, First Farmer: farming in ancient times - BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: AGRICULTURE Humble man becomes Superhero!! - BIBLE PEOPLE: NOAH Buildings in
Biblical times: the real thing -
BIBLE
ARCHITECTURE: HOUSING Noah as one of the Top Ten Heroes of the Bible - BIBLE TOP TEN: NOAH Altars of sacrifice in Biblical times - BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: ANCIENT RELIGIONS
|
||||||
|
IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!!!! |
||||||
|
Noah was a good man in a corrupt world. He walked with God. He had a wife, three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, and three daughters-in-law. God saw the corruption and depravity of the world, and regretted creating people. But what He had created, He could destroy. Noah would be an exception. God would spare him and his family. He told Noah what He was about to do, and directed him to build an ark. In the ark he was to put pairs of all the animals and birds on the earth. Noah was a contrarian. Despite the jeers of the people around him, Noah built the ark, collected the animals and birds, and prepared for the worst. It came. God opened the heavens and flooded the earth. Nothing and no-one was spared. Except every living creature in the Ark. And the fish, of course. Noah and his family, locked inside the ark, were safe. Eventually the rain stopped. A wind, the breath of God, blew over the waters and they began to recede. Noah sent out birds to see what they would do. At first they could find nowhere to perch, but then one of them, a dove, failed to come back to the ark, and Noah knew it had found a branch on which to perch. When the earth was finally dry, God told Noah to leave the ark, freeing all the animals and birds as well. The first thing that Noah did was to build an altar of thanksgiving to God. God made Noah a promise: that He would never again destroy all living creatures, as He had just done. As a sign of His promise, He made a rainbow across the sky.
|
'Despite the
jeering people around him, Noah built the ark, collected the
animals and birds, and prepared for the worst. ________________________________
|
|||||
|
Noah became the first tiller of the soil. He planted, among other things, a vineyard. When the grapes ripened he made wine, but he drank too much and became drunk. While he was drunk he threw off all his clothes and fell down, naked, on the ground. His son Ham came in and saw him, and went off to get his brothers, so that they could see too. But they were more respectful towards their father, and shielded their eyes while they covered him. When Noah woke up and heard what had happened, he was angry. He cursed Ham for his lack of respect. Ham was the father of Canaan, who was the forefather of the Canaanites, traditional enemies of the Hebrew people.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
The Wickedness of People 7So the Lord said, ‘I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ 8But Noah found favour in the sight of the Lord. Command to
build an Ark
|
At
the end of one hundred and fifty days the waters had abated; 4and
in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came
to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5The
waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on
the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains appeared.
6 At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made 7and sent out the raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. 8Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground; 9but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him. 10He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark; 11and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. 12Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did not return to him any more. 13 In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying. 14In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. 15Then God said to Noah, 16‘Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. 17Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.’ 18So Noah went out with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. 19And every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out of the ark by families. God’s
Promise to Noah
|
|
||||
|
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||
|
Bible
Art: Paintings and Artworks from the Old and New Testament |
||||||