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Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes (1614-20)

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Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes (1614-20)

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Technically this is early modern. However, Artemisia was a female artist in a time when it was hard to make one's way as such.  Her personal life informed her choice of subjects.  Subject to a sexual assault, Artemisia revisited the theme of Judith slaying Holofernes on multiple occasions, using a biblical story to comment on female agency.  Note Judith has assistance from a maidservant.  I copy a self-portrait so  you can compare the features of Judith and Artemisia.

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OK, here's something a little more directly allegorical.  The rose window from Canterbury cathedral.

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OK, here's something a little more directly allegorical.  The rose window from Canterbury cathedral.

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I'm going to put in a link because the whole window is one big exercise in medieval typology, paralleling events in the Hebrew scriptures with those in the Christian scriptures.

http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/Canterbury/corona-1.htm

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The Tower of Babel was painted by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1563. This painting depicts a Genesis story 11:1-9. The people were united under a common language, but God disapproved of the tower they were building so God created confusion within the builders by creating multiple languages. Not everyone could communicate with each other now. "Babel" means confusion. The Ziggurat was left unfinished, which symbolized the effects of having many different languages in the world--the workers could not work together to finish it.  https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tower-of-Babel
Mary Coleman

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The Suicide of Saul was painted by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1562. This painting illustrates the biblical suicide of Saul following the defeat by the Philistines (Samuel 31, 1-5). This story depicts the fall of Saul and his army in 16th century armor. It is interesting that Saul is on the far left rather than in the middle to show his importance.

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This is a piece of a fresco created by Masaccio in 1425. The fresco is in the the Branacci Chapel of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. It is depicting the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden in Genesis. This interpretation is striking because it shows agony and embarrassment as Eve is covering herself. Some have compared her position to Eve, possibly because Masaccio was inspired by antiquity.

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Donatello created this bronze statue of David's defeat of Goliath sometime around the 1440's, although the exact dates and the reason for creating it are debated. The uniqueness of this statue comes from Dontaello's depiction of David as weaker and more feminine than what David is traditionally interpreted as. This, combined with the fact that David is not wearing any armour, could symbolize that David won because of God's aid and not his own physical strength. This statue has also created controversy among historians because some claim that the piece could be interpreted as Donatello's expression of his own homosexuality or his reflection on the views of homosexuality during his time.

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The first murder occurred when Cain killed Abel in the Old Testament. This specific painting by Paul Rubens was created in 1608-1609

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This is a piece of the fresco in the Sistine Chapel. No one knows the exact artist who painted this particular scene, but it has been attributed to  Domenico Ghirlandaio, Biago d'Antonio, and Cosimo Rosselli. This section of the fresco illustrates Moses leading the Israelites in the crossing of the Red Sea. The Pharaoh's face is contorted in extreme agony and anger as his army drowns around him. What is particularly interesting about this piece is the way the painter alludes to the plagues that God sent to punish the Egyptians. On the top right side of the scene are several dark clouds sending hail down on the city. If you look closely, you can also see sunlight beginning to poke through the darkness and a rainbow pointing in the direction of the Israelites, symbolizing God's promise of deliverance to the Israelites.

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The Book of Exodus in film- Olivia Morrow

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The Book of Exodus in film- Olivia Morrow

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In deciding to take a more modern look on how stories in The Old Testament are interpreted, I'm examining two tellings of the story of Exodus, where Moses leads the Hebrews out of Egypt. Many people think of the classic 1956 film, The Ten Commandments, which is influential for its time, but now comes off as over-dramatic at times and stiff at others. God is a booming presence (with an incredibly low voice) that overpowers Moses and is rather foreign and inhuman. On the other hand, the more recent 1998 film, The Prince of Egypt, gives the story an animated twist.  Moses is given complexity and depth that isn't in the first movie, and the humanity in the film is tangible. The music in the movie adds enormously, and the portrayal of God is unique, ethereal, eerie... and yet still human; in fact, the voice is done by none other than the actor who plays Moses. While both are amazing films in their own ways, it's fascinating to see how the history of film culture has impacted the way such a timeless story is told.

It's also worth noting that in the Ten Commandments, nearly the entire cast is white. In The Prince of Egypt, the characters are clearly Hebrew and Egyptian.

Burning bush scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUm6rC0o7Po&list=PLDAF3D3C423008654&index=10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5BQWubuC8g

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God ordered Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a test of his faith; this appears in Genesis 22:1-13. Abraham set out to carry out the command, to prove himself; however, God sent down an angel to save his son. Rembrandt captures all the cultivating moment of sacrifice.

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The Creation of Adam -- Michelangelo (1511)

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The Creation of Adam -- Michelangelo (1511)

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The Creation of Adam, which was a fresco made by Michelangelo during 1511 as part of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The fresco is a fairly straightforward allusion to the story of the creation of Adam in the Old Testament. It depicts Adam's creation as it is detailed in the Book of Genesis, but also depicts it in a different way than other creation takes. It's different because it shows God and Adam facing each other, and embracing each other with that touch. This God is depicted as very humanlike and less stoic than other depictions of God.

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Elijah and the Prophets of Baal, Lucas Cranach the Younger

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Elijah and the Prophets of Baal, Lucas Cranach the Younger

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This painting by the German Renaissance painter Lucas Cranach the Younger, portrays the story from 1 Kings 18:20-29. Elijah is a prophet of God, thus he worships God. On the other hand, there are 200 priests that worship their deity, Baal. To prove whose god is truly God, they construct two altars and place a bull and wood upon them. In this process, Elijah mocks them because he knows that his God is truly God; Baal is a false idol. The priests of Baal cried out needlessly for Baal to send down fire upon the altar; nothing happened. Elijah on the other hand filled the trenches surrounding the altar with water and even poured water on the altar, because so strong was his faith in the Lord his God. Then God sent down fire upon the altar, proving to the prophets of Baal that He is truly God. Afterward, the prophets of Baal died in shame, and were "hacked to pieces".

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The Suicide of Saul & Downfall of his army

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The Suicide of Saul & Downfall of his army

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1562 Pieter Bruegel the Elder

This painting was created by Pieter the Elder. The painting reflects the story in the bible where Saul kills himself after being defeated by Philistines. In the picture the army appear to be in distress.

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Invited by Pope Julius II, Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It took him four years, from 1508-1512. In typical Michelangelo style, the strong muscular bodies of not only Adam but also God are juxtaposed with solid and nebulous surroundings. It is also interesting to note that God forms a convex shape reaching to Adam, while Adam has a responding concave shape. God despite his might wears not the splendor of a great ruler but rather a light tunic. It is a more intimate version of God- one that is not untouchable and remote from man, but accessible to him. Yet, this is still more than we can say of Adam who, in his ignorance of the knowledge of good and evil, has no qualms being completely exposed. While God has the motion and definitive action of moving towards Adam with power and might, Adam on the other hand seems still, unable to do much more than feebly lift his hand to accept the breath of God.

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In the reading for today, we read about the exodus of Hebrews and the beginning story of how Judaism, Christianity, and Islam came to be.  Moses and his people are on the left tablet showing their escape from the Egyptians on the right.  Showing the Egyptians with warships and weaponry gives further proof of God's divine intervention.

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I MESSED UP I DIDN'T REALIZE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MEDIEVAL ARTJudith is pictured here in "The Return of Judith to Bethulia," 1472, walking home alongside her maid, who is holding the head of Holofernes, after she slew him. Botticelli has her pause for a moment to look towards the viewer. Her expression is distant and a bit mournful; is she contemplating the actions she just took? Is she regretting her decisions, thinking about the future, or otherwise feeling preoccupied by the overwhelming emotions that come with such actions? In one hand, she has the sword that recently spilled blood, and in the other hand, she carries an olive branch of the coming peace for the Hebrews.

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Painted in 1603, Caravaggio depicts Abraham moments away from sacrificing Isaac when an angel stops him. Caravaggio depicts Abraham as an older man and calm. While Isaac is young and struggling against his father's hold on him. You can even see the impression of Abraham's finger on Isaac's check. The animal looks almost serene as it stands next to them almost as if it were offering itself as sacrifice instead. The scenery is also dark and seems to be far away from the town. -Lily

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This painting depicts Bathsheba, wife of Uriah. One day King David saw her bathing and decided she was beautiful that he must have her. So King David forms a plan and to send Uriah away in the military so Bathsheba would be alone and dies. Once Uriah was away King David swooped in and basically raped Bathsheba and impregnated her. In order to hide his wrong doing King David ends up marrying Bathsheba.

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Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti - Johannah Ward

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Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti - Johannah Ward

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This piece is a set of bronze doors on a series of 10 panels that depict a variety of Old Testament stories that were made for the Florence Baptistery. The doors took Ghiberti 27 years to complete, and were installed in 1452. The expansive piece inspired his contemporaries and the next generation of Renaissance artists. The panels include beautiful, grand, and classical depictions of Adam and Eve, Jacob and Easu, Noah, Abraham, Cain and Abel, Joseph, Moses, David, and Solomon and Sheba. Overall, Ghiberti depicts a general theme of salvation and the prophetic foreshadowing of Christ's coming, as well as sin and God's role of saving human kind and forgiving sin.