Joseph, His Brothers (and Tissot) in Egypt

God meant it for good. That's what Joseph tells his brothers in Egypt. They came by different routes, of course, and set off on the journey from different impulses. Joseph has traveled there with the caravan of traders to whom his brothers sold him. The brothers have traveled to Egypt at the direction of their father in hopes of buying grain. The Bible says it's Egypt, but artists have, at times, seemed unable to help themselves. Their "Egypt" looks remarkably like France or Flanders or a Greco-Roman temple. For those artists, every Biblical subject was painted in their own time, using their own architecture and their own clothing styles.

At the other end of the spectrum is French artist Jacques Joseph Tissot (1836-1902). Tissot traveled to the Near East several times between 1877 and 1902, when his energy was consumed with paintings for, first, a Life of Christ and then with illustrating the Hebrew Bible. Criticized as being "too photographic", Tissot did indeed photograph settings, buildings and landscapes, documenting the places and details he would need when he was back in his studio painting.

For the painting, see: http://thejewishmuseum.org/collection/26324-joseph-and-his-brethren-welcomed-by-pharaoh

While his work is by no means fully authentic, elements of Tissot's paintings can be identified with places in Egypt. In "Joseph and His Brothers Welcomed by Pharaoh" (above, right), the clerestory windows in the painting are direct quotations from the Karnak Hypostyle Hall in the Karnak temple complex (above, left).

The Jewish Museum, NYC, has a collection of Tissot paintings, including his version of the episode where Joseph announces his identity to his brothers. Under Tissot's brush, Egypt is vividly colored and patterned, distinctly different from the more subdued garments worn by Joseph's brothers. No doubt the brothers felt somewhat out of place even before Joseph makes the grand gesture in this painting. Though the architectural setting has not been specifically identified, the repetition of columns, windows and panels provides a geometric background for the organic forms of Jacob's sons. 

http://thejewishmuseum.org/collection/26323-joseph-maketh-himself-known-to-his-brethren

The columns seem more slender than most Egyptian columns (refer to the drawing above), but they echo the rather willowy figure of Joseph whose brothers do, in this moment, bow down to him as he dreamed long ago.

For a surprising expression of Egypt in church architecture, see the Art&Faith Matters Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/artfaithmatters

Matthew 14.22-33: Walking on Water: An Early Image

Dated around 240 AD, it is billed as one of the earliest images of Jesus in existence.* The house church at Dura-Europos (Syria) appears to be like those mentioned in Romans 15:5 - a private house used as a meeting place for Christians that over time was adapted for Christian worship. One of the rooms served as the baptistery. A basin, looking much like a modern bathtub, was set into the wall to hold water, and the walls were painted with a variety of scriptural stories to illuminate the baptismal theme.

http://ecatalogue.art.yale.edu/detail.htm?objectId=34499

One of the images is the story of Jesus walking on water and Peter sort-of walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33). The wall fragment now in the collection of the Yale University Art Gallery shows a boat in the background carrying the disciples with Jesus and Peter in the foreground. The information on the Yale website identifies the whole figure remaining in the fragment as Jesus, with the upper half of Peter's figure and half of the boat lost. However, the feet of the whole figure are below the waves, which seems to be the sinking Peter, with the figure on the right standing securely on top of the waves. Additionally, in succeeding depictions, the figure of Peter is on the left with Jesus on the right. Perhaps it is the upper half of Jesus that is missing. See the Art&Faith Matters facebook page for additional images of this subject (https://www.facebook.com/artfaithmatters).

The drawings are more illustrative than evocative - simple outlines define the rather geometric shapes of the human figures, the waves, the boat and the rigging. There is not much included in the scene beyond these few elements.

What is perhaps most interesting about this fragment is what it tells us in its setting. Because it is a water image - and an image of Jesus saving one in the water at that - it isn't a surprising choice for the walls of a baptistery. The other images in the room might be cause for reflection on the meaning of this story, though. The series of paintings also offers insight into how early Christians understood this story.

In the wall above the arch above the font is an image of the Good Shepherd with sheep on a hillside. In the lower left hand corner of that same wall is an image of Adam, Eve and a serpent. On the wall at a right angle to the font wall are depictions of several episodes from the gospels: three women at the tomb (closest to the font), the healing of the paralytic, and Christ and Peter walking on the water. On the opposite wall are two doors, and in the space between them was an image of the woman at the well. Beneath that image is a picture of David and Goliath.

What might each of these stories tell us about the story of Christ and Peter's walk on the waves? Does the meaning become clearer with the knowledge that the boat in this fragment sails to the right, following the direction of the paralytic man from the adjoining scene? What might a third-century interpretation of this gospel story have to say to us today?


*For Dura-Europos as early image, see: http://observer.com/2011/09/earliest-known-images-of-christ-on-display-at-nyu/

Wrestling

For such a physical struggle – all night, you may remember – many depictions of Genesis 32:22-31 are remarkably unphysical. For all it appears in those works, Jacob might be dancing with his mysterious opponent. In at least one version (Rembrandt, 1659, Gemaldegalerie) it looks like God's messenger is about to “dip” his dance partner. But the text recounts a physical endurance contest between two determined opponents.

The painting by Leon Joseph Florentin Bonnat (c. 1876), below, captures the physical nature of the struggle as each wrestler refuses to let go of the other. Details are dropped out. The color palette is limited. Judging by the sky blue background, the time of day does not appear to be deepest night. Perhaps dawn is breaking and this is the final moment of the match. With an indistinct setting, the emphasis is on the push and pull between the two figures. The two are distinguished by the paint's value – one lighter, the other darker, though the darker figure of Jacob has the same light highlights as the angel, and the underside of the angel's wings are the same tonal family as Jacob's skin.

At the moment captured by the painting, Jacob appears to be lifting the angel off the ground. There seems to be a pointed toe desperately trying to remain connected to the earth. You may remember the story of Hercules and Antaeus. And though Jacob would not be familiar with the story, surely the artist was. In the ancient story, Antaeus, a Libyan giant, requires all people passing through his country to wrestle with him. Hercules gains the advantage in the contest of strength and wills by lifting the giant from the earth, which is the source of Antaeus' grounding and power. It seems counter-intuitive, though, that God's wrestler would be determined to remain connected to the earth.

A video clip of the story places the two wrestlers in a different relationship. In this contemporary version, the angel hovers above the earth with Jacob grasping at legs and hem, trying to keep the angel within his grasp. Jacob is clearly in a weaker position here, but he remains determined to hold on. A still is below. The entire video clip is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQWsfBzeEkM

Perhaps both artists understood Jacob's character and that if there was an advantage to be gained, Jacob was determined to gain it. I will not let you go until you bless me. And so there is blessing...and a limp. Though Jacob is blessed with a new name rooted in a relationship with God, the conclusion is still on God's terms.