Dan W. Clanton Jr. Arapahoe Community College Littleton, Colorado

Transcription

1 RBL 05/2008 O Kane, Martin Painting the Text: The Artist as Biblical Interpreter The Bible in the Modern World 8 Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, Pp. xiv Hardcover. $ ISBN X. Dan W. Clanton Jr. Arapahoe Community College Littleton, Colorado In these inventive and eclectic studies, Martin O Kane explores how the visual interpretations of a number of texts from both the Old and New Testaments enrich our understanding and appreciation of the biblical narrative itself. He continues, In particular, they focus on how the nuances and subtleties contained in the narrative are frequently highlighted by the painter, allowing us to see aspects of the text we may previously have been unaware of (xiii). These are certainly intriguing and laudable goals, especially at a time when the discipline of biblical studies is far more open to such inquiries than ever before. Unfortunately, while O Kane includes some wonderful and provocative insights in these collected essays, taken together they present the reader with seemingly isolated analyses that never add up to more than the sum of their parts. In chapter 1, The Bible and the Visual Imagination (1 33), O Kane does a wonderful job delineating his approach to the subject at hand. He notes the importance of metaphor for understanding the nuances and subtleties of visibility in the Bible (4) but at the same time correctly notes that, in spite of the recurrence of visual language in the text, there is a deep suspicion and distrust of the visual in the Bible (6). That is, the aniconism of ancient Hebrew culture conflicts with its literary artistry in depicting narrative scenes that require the reader to visualize the landscapes, characters, and encounters presented

2 therein. He turns to literary criticism for help in this dilemma but notes, While contemporary literary approaches point us in the right direction, we must extend their boundaries to include the role of the reader s imagination in reading biblical stories, the reader s imagistic consciousness (9). If this sounds as though O Kane is concerned with the issue of textual determinacy with regard to meaning, he is, and he returns to this issue later in the book (see 35, 43, 63, 152). On pages 9 25 O Kane illustrates his approach to focusing on the visual in biblical narrative by examining briefly Gen 1 3; Deut 34; Gen 24; 27; and 31; the visual content of dreams ; and Isa 6:9 10. His conclusion(s) to this initial chapter logically follow his examination: the reader must exercise his or her visual imagination in order to appreciate fully, to be persuaded by, the Bible s plots and characters (32). He also claims that in biblical studies we have neglected the importance of the visual imagination in our hermeneutical processes and we must bring more insights from the world of visual culture to bear on the way we engage with and interpret the biblical text (33). Chapter 2, The Artist as Reader of the Bible (34 65), takes up this challenge and presents two approaches to visual hermeneutics those of Gadamer and Paolo Berdini before using these approaches to examine a specific New Testament text: Matt 2:1 12 (the adoration of the magi). O Kane s goal here is examine the interpretive advantages of focusing on a painting s engagement of its viewer in biblical subject matter ; that is, he wants to accentuate the role of the artist as an active reader of the Bible and not merely an illustrator of biblical scenes, [and] the dynamic that occurs in the text-reader process as paradigmatic for the image-viewer relationship (36). In addition, O Kane wants his readers to appreciate how the painting of a biblical subject presents to the viewer an event in which he or she becomes involved and how different visual instances of the same subject matter broaden the horizons of the viewer (36). In his survey of Gadamer s work (37 41), he focuses on Gadamer s theory of art as a process of leading the viewer beyond one s horizon, as well as the distinction between representation (Vorstellung) and presentation (Darstellung). The latter notion is especially important for religious art, Gadamer notes, because religious art is not a depiction (Vorstellung) but a coming into picture (Darstellung) of a divine presence (40). Berdini s theory which stems from his work on the painter Jacopo Bassano emphasizes what he terms textual expansion and visual exegesis. The former indicates the claim that, when creating a work of art, the painter does not visual the text on which the piece is based but rather an expanded version of that text that is specific to the painter in that it draws upon the artist s experience and view(s) of the text and its resonances. Visual exegesis refers to the new encounter with the text made possible by the image (41). Implicit within this notion of visual exegesis are the claims that the reader is a painter (42) and that the viewer s reading of a painting can function in determining to what degree the work of art is

3 religious, (43); that is, in visual exegesis, the determination of meaning lies squarely within the viewer. On pages 48 63, then, O Kane applies these theories to five different renderings of Matt 2:1 12: those of Mantegna, Lippi, Botticelli, Bassano, and Rembrandt. His point in these brief analyses is to illuminate the central role of both the artist and viewer in extending and appropriating a biblical subject or theme through its visual expressions (64). Continuing his examination of Matthew where he left off in chapter 2, O Kane focuses on Matt 2:13 23, the flight into Egypt, in chapter 3 (66 106). O Kane spends a good amount of time discussing the metaphors of flight and exile found in the text and its later interpretations (61 71) before focusing on the biblical text itself (71 77), wherein he discusses both the fulfillment formulations and the subsequent symbolism found in the passage and its problematic relationship to the traditional theory of Matthew s audience as a mix of Jew and Gentile. Following this, on pages he surveys the way(s) in which later interpreters particularly the author of The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew filled in narrative aporia and augmented the text to fit their own needs. Particularly interesting in this regard is the relationship between this portion of Matthew and the church s tradition of Vespers, which O Kane mentions on pages More problematic is his section on pages in which he draws upon the work of Lew Andrews and David Freedberg, scholars who examine the importance of internal visual representation from the thirteenth century onwards as an aid to prayer and meditation (88). Surely this phenomenon existed, but O Kane s claims on pages 91, 92, and 94 to the effect that the viewer is drawn into the paintings of the flight into Egypt so that the family s journey becomes symbolic of the viewer s journey through life at the same time the paintings invite us to ruminate on the (eventual) death of Christ are far too subjective to be convincing. Furthermore, these claims belie his earlier assertions about the location of meaning residing in the viewer. If this is true, then perhaps O Kane s claims here are his own readings of the works and should be noted as such. In contrast, his final sections on Marc Chagall (95 106) and how his use of the metaphors of flight and exile illustrate the relationship between a Jewish and a Gentile audience, also found in Matthew, are wonderfully illuminating. A minor problem with this chapter that will later grow into my main criticism of this book is the way in which O Kane presents the theory of Berdini (78). Since we have just been introduced to his work some thirty-five pages ago, I was surprised to see a near-verbatim repetition of his theory of visual exegesis and even more surprised to see that the first sentence of the block quotation from Berdini on page 78 is presented as O Kane s own statement on page 41. It is in chapter 4, The Deception of Isaac (Genesis 27): Matthias Stom s Isaac Blessing Jacob (107 27) that O Kane s work begins to run into real trouble. To begin with, on pages there are two large sections one based on the work of J. Cheryl Exum and

4 the other using Andrews and Freedberg that not only recycle theory already used in previous chapters but that use the exact same quotes and language O Kane uses in those previous chapters. To wit, the Exum quote used on pages is repeated verbatim on 71, and the description on page 108 of Andrews and Freedberg s work is taken directly from 88. While it is perfectly reasonable to expect that authors will rely on key works and theories throughout their books, it is altogether different to use the exact same language in two different chapters. It distracts from what is otherwise a mostly intriguing and innovative visual exegesis on Gen 27 that focuses specifically on Stom s interpretation (ca ), one that forms a devotional narrative triptych with two other works: Tobias Healing His Father s Blindness and Christ Disputing with the Doctors. O Kane does a wonderful job exploring the ways in which Stom s work compares with other renderings of this theme as well as how its position within a triptych enables the viewer to intertextually compare the different scenes in an attempt to bring forth new aspects of the target text. One wishes O Kane had focused more on the visual language present in Gen 27 on pages , but this issue is addressed in his discussion of Stom on 122. Chapter 5 (128 59) examines the description of the servant in Isa 53 as it interacts with the images of Christ as the Man of Sorrows found primarily in fifteenth- and sixteenthcentury depictions. O Kane s goal is visually to exegete these images in an attempt to show how they enrich our understanding of the poem s literary dynamic (129). Implicit in this approach is his claim that in several instances we can suspend traditional iconographical readings of the Man of Sorrows as Christ in order to let the visual image interact directly with the Hebrew poem itself and so facilitate more creative and unexpected readings (129). In essence, then, O Kane is working backwards from a messianic Christian interpretation of Isa 53 as referring to Jesus to let images of Jesus focus our attention back on the poem in Isa 53. In so doing, O Kane harkens back to his earlier claim regarding meaning residing in the reader/viewer. He also revisits his earlier emphasis of visual language by noting that the poem is about seeing, not hearing; it is about vision rather than verbal communication and how the servant should be seen and should not be seen (131). By reengaging his previous theoretical claims, O Kane manages to create a masterful chapter that exemplifies his idea of visual exegesis and the importance of the visual in hermeneutics. After discussing the origin and function(s) of the imago pietatis, the image of piety depicting Christ as the Man of Sorrows (136), O Kane sets out a number of enlightening parallels between the poem in Isa 53 and these images beginning on page 140, including the twin themes of violence and beauty. He then moves on to discuss more abstract references to Isa 53: first in Van Gogh s works Still Life with Open Bible and Sorrow (150 55); then the contemporary piece titled The Tale Is Told That Shall Be Told, by the Irish artist Patrick Hall (155 58). In these last two sections O Kane displays an exegetical imagination and an art-historical acumen that is

5 thoroughly convincing. However, in his brief conclusion (158 59) he once again uses the exact language he uses previously in the book: in this case the work of Berdini is again described and, as in chapter 3, the description on page 41 is reproduced almost exactly on page 159. Of all the chapters in O Kane s book, chapter 6, Biblical Landscapes in the Israel Museum (160 95) is the most problematic. He sets out his topic on page 161: how a specific collection of Old Masters paintings depicting well-known biblical themes in the Israel Museum is arranged and how this arrangement influences the way we see and interpret individual works in the collection. He also situates himself as a viewer in Jerusalem (164 65) and wonders whether the geographical (or perhaps geopolitical) context of the collection informs and influences our interpretation of it (164). Unfortunately, the chapter begins with yet another instance of verbatim borrowing from not one but two previous chapters. On 162, the work of Andrews and Freedberg is referenced again, and exactly the same quotes and language are used here as were used on 88 and 108. Despite the innovative and intriguing way in which O Kane describes the collection, his emphasis on (sacred) place as an important factor for determining meaning for the viewer, and his insightful analysis as to the how the theme of violence against the Other is so prominent due to the specific arrangement of the works, a nagging question kept appearing to me. If O Kane s analysis in this chapter is so dependent on the specific arrangement of particular paintings, will it be rendered obsolete if the Israel Museum decides to change this arrangement? That is, if the museum decides to replace what O Kane argues is the main focalizing painting of the collection, Nicolas Poussin s The Destruction and Sack of the Temple of Jerusalem, will all of his specific examples still evince his conclusion(s) on page 194: it is not only the artist s intentions and historical milieu that inform how we interpret a biblical painting, equally important is the context in which we now see it? O Kane s final chapter, The Four Seasons: Nicolas Poussin s Biblical Landscapes ( ), focuses more specifically on one cycle of paintings that depict four separate, yet interrelated biblical scenes. As O Kane notes, Poussin takes the biblical story of the Garden of Eden to represent spring, the meeting of Ruth and Boaz in the corn field to evoke summer, the spies with the grapes from the Promised Land as autumn and the Flood to represent winter (203). O Kane also examines the presence or absence of some of the common symbols found in Poussin s works, such as the serpent, water, and the imperiled child and the power relationships between male and female figures (201). In this chapter O Kane s analyses are insightful and serve as good examples of his understanding of visual exegesis.

6 As I noted earlier, taken as a whole these studies are uneven, but there is also much to commend. O Kane alerts his readers to the importance of paying attention to visual language in the biblical text, as well as examining the relationship(s) between visual and textual interpretations. His sections on textual expansion and visual exegesis in chapter 2 are particularly useful, and both teachers and researchers should be quick to adopt such language for their work. At times, the quality of the reproduced black and white images adversely affects his discussion, but this is a widespread problem endemic to analyses of art. In sum, then, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this book, but O Kane s work is certainly both intriguing and laudable.