Jonah: Visual Arts

Jonah Imagery in Antiquity

Given the vividness of the narrative, a number of scenes present themselves for artistic depiction. In particular, artists have focused on Jonah’s expulsion from the whale, and his resting either on the beach (after his expulsion) or outside the city of Nineveh, awaiting its destruction. Less commonly do artists depict Jonah aboard the Tarshish-bound ship.

Jewish Mosaics

Some of our earliest depictions of Jonah come from synagogues built in the beginnings of the Common Era. Far from conforming to the older scholarly view of Judaism as aniconic throughout history, the benefactors of these synagogues clearly valued elaborate decoration, seen particularly in their stunning mosaic floors. Their mosaic floors depict biblical as well as historical and mythological imagery throughout. In Israel today, one can go to the excavated synagogues at Beit Alfa and Sepphoris to find mosaic images of zodiacs, wild creatures, and biblical scenes such as the sacrifice of Isaac.

• For example, recent excavation at Huqoq has revealed many biblical and non-biblical mosaic scenes. Among these is a depiction of Jonah (Visual Arts Jon 1:17–2:1; 2:10). Here one does not find a narrative, but a single scene. Jonah is swallowed by a great fish, but that fish is swallowed by another, which is in turn swallowed by a fish the size of the ship. The prophet and the three fish are surrounded by all manner of sea creatures, including a dolphin and an octopus, which look on at this amazing event. Excavator Jodi Magness (UNC–Chapel Hill), suggests that the artist is working from an account different from that found in the Bible. Perhaps this artist might have drawn from one of several Midrashic accounts which describe more than one creature, including Leviathan (Jewish Tradition Jon 1:17; 2:1,10).

Early Christian Art: Resurrection and Baptism

The story of Jonah was a favorite subject for early Christian artists in the first few centuries AD. Artists drew from a range of scenes that even went beyond what one finds in the biblical narrative. Jonah is depicted with some identifiable characteristics: he often has his palms facing upward in an orans position, he is often depicted lounging under a tree, and, of course, the sea-monster, often a serpent, makes an appearance.

In the Catacombs

The story of Jonah appears as early as the first Christian paintings, in the context of burial and profession of faith in the eternal life initiated by baptism. Representations of Jonah frequently adorned funerary art. In the Christian catacombs of Rome, there are 57 frescoes that feature Jonah (→Duchet-Suchaux 1994, 198). Jonah is often depicted along other biblical stories of deliverance, types of baptism and resurrection. These include Noah’s safely exiting the ark after the flood (Gn 7–8), the salvation of the three youths in Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace (G-Dn 3:51–90), and Daniel’s protection from the lions (Dn 6). Clearly the many depictions of Jonah in the catacombs testify to the fervency of early Christian devotion to the prophet (see Visual Arts Jon 1:7–15).

Some general points:

• Early Christians connected Jonah with death and resurrection because of Jesus’ own words: “For as Jonah was in the whale’s belly three days and three nights: so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights” (Mt 12:40). As evidenced by early Christian art and literature, such as →Irenaeus Haer. 3.20.1, 5.5.2, Jesus’ typological interpretation of Jonah as a sign of death and resurrection was well known. In line with the so called Christus Victor understanding of the atonement, Jonah often bursts forth triumphantly from the fish in these depictions.
• Jonah is sometimes depicted as a Christianized Endymion lounging amid abundance (Visual Arts Jon 4:5–8). These funerary images seem to have little to do with the biblical narrative. It may be an eschatological depiction of redeemed and transfigured creation, which Jonah was understood to depict allegorically; a lightly Christianized pagan motif; or both.
• Not limited to funerary art, images of Jonah are found in many contexts, including elaborate luxury items such as ivory boxes, seals, and jewelry. One example of a luxury good is the Roman gold glass medallion preserved at the Louvre  (Visual Arts Jon 1:7–15).

Jonah Sarcophagus

Likewise, episodes of Jonah are also common on the sarcophagi of the 3^rd and 4^th c. A particularly well known example is the 3^rd c. Jonah Sarcophagus (Museo Pio Cristiano, Vatican City, Cat. 31448). The narrative cycle of Jonah composed of three scenes dominates this lavish piece of funeral art, and stretches almost the full length of it, as does the sea below.

Primary Theme: Resurrection

• Central diptych: Jonah is thrown into the maw of the sea monster (above the sail the faces of Juno—note her characteristic diadem—and Aeolus—wings and puffing cheeks—the gods who stirred the seas against Aeneas) and then released by it onto the shore.
• In the upper register, from left to right, viewers find scenes of resurrection and salvation. In the left corner, one sees the raising of Lazarus from a temple-like tomb (Jn 11:44). Next to it, Moses brings forth water from a rock at Massah and Meribah (Ex 17:1–6) to give his people water in the wilderness. Then, above the depiction of the sea monster, we find almost certainly the resurrected Christ. There might be here a conflation of stories, however, with women grasping his feet (Mt 28:9) and perhaps (as →Fuchs 2013 argues) the male disciples encountering Jesus on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:13–31). 
• Upper right and left corners : the temple-like structure from which Lazarus has emerged, in the left, parallels the little temple.

Secondary Theme: Salvation

A small portrait of Noah in his ark features just above the fish that is releasing Jonah. 1Pt 3:20–21 interprets the ark as a type of baptism. As Noah takes the olive branch from the dove, he looks up to the left toward Moses so that we may take that scene also as a figure of baptism. 

• Lower register: fishermen emphasize the abundant life in the water and remind the viewer of Jesus’ call to Peter and Andrew, “Come ye after me, and I will make you to be fishers of men” (Mt 4:19, cf. Mk 1:17). Note that about half of the heads on the sarcophagus are 18^th-c. restorations (→Fuchs 2013, 67 n.72). 
• In the upper right, balancing the tomb of Lazarus, we see sheep emerging from a sheep fold, perhaps a general metaphor for salvation or a more specific reference, such as Jesus’ self-referential metaphor of a sheep-gate (Jn 10:9).  
• In both corners, we have what might be generic imagery of goods and abundance, although the image on the left could also be read as part of the Jonah narrative, as the loading of the ship in preparation to sail. On the right, we have a peaceful scene of a man fishing and a bird drinking from the water.
• Jonah’s nakedness suggests the rite of baptism: catechumens were stripped naked before immersion in the baptismal pool.
• Jonah resting nude under the tree is like Adam’s before the Fall and signifies the innocence restored by baptism.

At the same time, the sarcophagus draws upon common symbolic grammar in pagan Roman art. Here, Jonah is a naked youth asleep; his pose faces us, with his legs leisurely crossed and one arm raised over the head while the weight of the body rests on the other arm and the left hip:

• His position recalls depictions of river gods types known throughout the Greek and Roman world.
• It is also the pose of the resting Endymion, a shepherd boy in Greek mythology, who slept eternally underneath a tree, and symbolized repose, peace, and well-being.

The Jonah Marbles

A beautiful depiction of the Jonah narrative in a non-funerary context can be seen in a hoard of 3^rd c. statuettes dubbed the Jonah Marbles, now at the Cleveland Museum of Art (nos. 1965.237–1965.240):

It is possible that each of the four statuettes depicts one of the four chapters of the book, according to the usual cycle: swallowing, praying, deliverance and rest. The first two depict a creature that is no familiar fish or whale: the sea monster (kêtos) is a chimera, with a fish’s tail, the body of a serpent, wings, a dog’s head, and the paws of a dog or lion. If the artist conceived of the “great fish” as Leviathan, then his depicition is reminiscent of traditional descriptions of Leviathan as a serpent-like monster (Jewish Tradition Jon 1:1a). The third image depicts Jonah looking upward with his palms facing outward. Either he is at prayer, using the early Christian orans pose of a priest, or he is preaching to the Ninevites, employing a rhetorical gesture of entreaty. The final image of Jonah resting beneath the gourd is arguably reminiscent of imagery of Endymion, though Jonah is fully clothed and bearded. 

Aesthetics

The stylistic cohesion between the statuettes indicates that they were meant to be displayed together: this is most clearly seen in the two statuettes of the sea creature. The composition in both is essentially the same—only Jonah’s position, either entering or leaving the fish, indicates which scene is depicted.

Origin?

The statuettes were allegedly found in a large pithos jar along with three pairs of Late Roman marble busts of a Roman aristocratic couple and one statuette of a youthful sheep-bearer, probably the Good Shepherd. The group's exact location of discovery, as well as their place of production, remains elusive. The Roman imperial quarries at Dokimeion in ancient Phrygia (near the modern Turkish city of Afyon) are the source for the statuettes’ highly crystalline white marble.

Function?

Likewise, the original context and purpose for these statuettes are unknown. They may have decorated a Christian household, either alongside or instead of more traditional pagan statuary; their aquatic and floral imagery might have made them ideal for placing them around a fountain in a private garden. Still, it is arguable that in the 3^rd c. Jonah’s funerary symbolism was unavoidable, and so it is more likely that these adorned a grave or a shrine.

The Murano Diptych

Held in the Museo Nazionale di Ravenna, the Murano diptych presents a Christological conflation of themes related to resurrection and baptism.

Upper register: As an Emperor Surrounded by His “Court” of Evangelists, Christ Sits in Glory under a Canopy

• Left Panel: Christ heals the blind man in the upper panel, and the Gadarene demoniac in chains (Mk 5:1–15) in the lower one.  
• Right Panel: the raising of Lazarus (Jn 11:1–45) while the crippled man picks up his bed and walks (Mk 2:1–12).  
• Beneath the central panel, the three youths in the fiery furnace with the angel (Dn 3) add one more typological layer to this rich composition.

Bottom Register: Jonah’s Story

• Right Panel: Jonah is thrown into the sea; by the monster swallows him.
• Left Panel: the monster releases Jonah at the command of God delivered by an angel; Jonah sleeps on a cot under the gourd tree (Jon 4:6–12).  

Coptic Art

Coptic Christians in Egypt also drew inspiration form the story of Jonah, using their own aesthetic style to convey a theology similar to that above. The Louvre holds a fragmentary 5^th c. Egyptian wall-hanging that depicts Jonah and the whale (E 26820). 

Here one does not find repurposed images of Endymion, but rather a single scene that encompasses several elements at once. As the prophet emerges from the creature, he is already in the orans pose and set under the vine. The Jonah portion is very well-preserved, while much of the rest of the wall hanging has not fared so well. From what remains, however, it is clear that the work focused on the theme of resurrection. In addition to Jonah, one finds a cross combined with an Egyptian ankh, which symbolizes life. There is also a peacock, a symbol of eternal life, holding another ankh.

Western Middle Ages: One Prophet among Others

Jonah is usually a bearded old man. The connection with baptism is nearly forgotten: indeed, baptism is not mentioned once in the Glossa ordinaria’s survey of exegeses on the Book of Jonah. The Augsburg Cathedral (Dom Mariä Heimsuchung) contains an 11^th–12^th c. stained glass window of Jonah as an aged prophet. His hat may be a distinctive marker of his Hebrew heritage.

Sometimes Jonah is identified as a bald man by contrast with the other prophets: see his statue on the Dreikönigenschrein (Cathedral of Cologne, ca 1200), or on the choir barriers of the Cathedral of Bamberg (ca. 1220).

There might be one exception, though: in a 13^th c. German manuscript of the Bible (MsWettF 11, f. 295v, Aargauer Kantonsbibliothek), an illuminated capital depicts Jonah emerging from the fish as a child.

This conjures a baptismal interpretation of Jonah’s sojourn in the fish. “Born again,” as it were, Jonah has a baby’s big eyes, chubby pink cheeks, and a bald, disproportionately large head.

Renaissance: Back to Antiquity?

The ideal youth of antiquity reappears, but more for aesthetic than theological reasons. We can see this in Michelangelo’s depiction of Jonah in his painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (1508). Michelangelo has managed to depict the whole book in a single tableau: a youthful Jonah lounges by a tree, as in his ancient depictions, but he has a distraught look towards heaven, while a large fish rests next to him. Likewise Lorenzo Lotti’s marble sculpture of Jonah (1520)—situated in Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome—depicts him as a youth seated upon the sea monster, with his foot upon its jaw. He holds drapery above his head, in a triumphant posture similar to Michelangelo’s David.

See also

• Filippo Lippi, fresco in the apse of Santa Maria Assunta, Cathedral of Spoleto, 1468 ;
• Antonio da Correggio, painting in the dome of S. Giovanni Evangelista in Parma, 1526–30.

Baroque

Baroque painters tend to depict Jonah as an older bearded man.

Classical “Marine” Decorative Painting

Later, the story of Jonah was viewed more as an “adventure at sea”; hence it was sometimes a mere pretext for dramatic seascapes. See, for example,

Modern and Contemporary Monumental Sculptures: Whale as Playground

The oversized nature of both the fish and the narrative have made Jonah and the whale a frequent theme for large artworks. The story is so well known that the whale alone is needed to invoke the rest.

• With his 1932 Jonah and the Whale (CAM 1934.67), installed at the Cranbrook Art Museum, Swedish sculptor Carl Milles succeeded in his initial intent to make his fountain “a joke for the children.” His amusing “Buddha-like Jonah” has a huge surprise on his face as he is spit high into the air.

• In the city of Akko in northern Israel, a sculpture of a large whale (by P. Shash, 2003) invites visitors to climb inside the whale. Like many of its depictions in children’s books, the whale’s center is open so that one can climb inside.The sculpture is a memorial to those who have lost their lives at sea. It not meant to be a depiction of the Jonah story, yet the hole in the middle of the whale—large enough for people to crawl in—is reminiscent of Jonah’s salvation by the whale. Below the sculpture, inscribed in Hebrew and Arabic are the words: “In memory of those who loved the sea and remained in its lap forever.”

• In Jaffa, Israel, near the port, one can find Ilana Goor’s bronze-cast Smiling Whale (1985). Goor was directly inspired by the story of Jonah and wished to commemorate Jaffa’s role in the story. She gave the whale a pleasant countenance to highlight the playfulness of Jonah’s story, as well as its message of mercy.

Theology Maintained: Baptismal and Resurrection Themes

Found at the entrance to Shandon Baptist Church (Columbia, SC), Robert Allison’s Jonah and the Whale (2007), fountain and bronze sculpture, is a good example of modern sacred art that focuses on the typology of Jonah.

This sculpture calls to mind both baptism—being located in the traditional location of a baptismal font—and, with its dramatic depiction of Jonah leaping from the whale, resurrection. Moreover, this “sign of Jonah” cannot but be Christological.

Folk Art

In a way similar to these large scale sculptures from professional artists, Jonah has influenced folk artists. See, for example,

Kitcsh and Toys — From God to Children: Playing with Jonah

In the biblical tale, a playful God (especially with martitime entities, cf. Ps 104:26) plays a pedagogic game with his prophet to teach him mercy. Could the frequency of Jonah as a theme for games and toy be a remote echo of such divine ways?

Games 

Because of the whale’s leviathan stature and the ease of adapting the story of Jonah into a simple morality tale, Jonah is often used in art and toys for children.

Toys

Children can make this story come to life with this interactive Jonah play set, featuring everything you need to help a child learn about this fascinating tale.

Children can make this story come to life with this cuddly, soft play set. Set includes a 7'' plush Jonah and a 12'' plush whale with zipper: Jonah fits in the whale's mouth!