Yonah and the Fish in Art/0

Yonah and the Fish in Art

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Introduction

Yonah 1-2 describe how Yonah is thrown overboard into the sea, swallowed by a fish, and finally released.The three artworks displayed here, Jan Breughel the Elder's oil painting,¹ Giulio Romano's ink drawing² and Joseph Asarfati's miniature from the Cervera Bible, all depict various aspects of the miracle. They differ in their portrayals of each of the main characters, raising questions about Yonah's state of mind when entrapped, the intended function of the fish, and the impact of the incident on the sailors.

Contrasting Images

Jan Breughel

Breughel's image is almost a seascape, with most of the canvas filled with the blue-greens of the rough sea, menacing waves, and dark, cloud filled sky.  In the left background, a series of uninviting, jagged rocks tower out of the sea, lending an air of danger to the composition. In the foreground, opposite the cliffs, the lighting illuminates the prophet and fish. A red garbed, penitent Yonah walks out of the massive critter towards the empty shore, as his hands clasp in prayer.  The fish itself, with its oversized face and droopy eyes, looks more comic than ominous.

Giulio Romano

This drawing is the busiest of the three images.  In the background, the sailors look out over their boat's gunwhale, gesturing toward the water into which they have thrown Yonah. One stands with his arms raised, apparently distraught over the deed. In the foreground, a petrified Yonah is spewed forth unceremoniously from a fantastical fish.  The creature is dragon-like, with a long tail, bird's head, and crocodile jaws. To the left, several onlookers edge away in fear, their arms outstretched as if to keep the terrifying monster away.

Joseph Asarfati

This miniature manages to tell the story with a minimum of detail. At the top of the image, three sailors sit in the small boat barely looking at Yonah, apparently indifferent to his danger. The prophet is depicted beneath them, and contrary to expectations, heads not into a raging sea, but straight from the boat into the mouth of the fish. He, like the sailors, appears calm, exhibiting no signs of distress or attempts to save himself. In contrast to the other images, this fish is fairly realistic looking, and hardly bigger than Yonah himself.

Relationship to the Biblical Text

The artists' choices reflect certain ambiguities in the Biblical text and different possible interpretive stances:

Yonah's Feelings

While Brueghel's Yonah emerges from the fish with his hands raised in a gesture of prayer, looking submissive and penitent, Romano's Yonah appears terrified, and Asarfati's prophet is apathetic.  What was Yonah feeling before, during,and after being delivered by the fish? When thrown overboard, did he welcome death, as suggested by R. Natan in the Mekhilta?  When swallowed, did he view the fish as an instrument of salvation or of further punishment? Did the ordeal lead him to repent?  Compare R"E of Beaugency who suggests that Yonah was thankful rather than frightened within the fish, with Abarbanel who assumes that Yonah's terrifying entrapment led him to repent. For discussion, see Yonah's Prayer

Who witnessed the miracle?Both Romano and Asarfati portray bystanders witnessing the miracle (either the sailors or people on shore), while Brueghel's painting implies that there were none. The text is silent on the matter but the suggestion might help answer an open question in the text: what led the people of Nineveh to believe in the words of a foreign, unknown prophet?  R"Y Kimchi suggests that the boatmen had arrived in Nineveh and shared the miracles at sea,

The Fish

The fish in both Brueghel and Romano's images is a fantastical, massive creature, while that in the Cervera Bible, is small and realistic-looking. What type of fish swallowed Yonah? Was it scary or mundane looking, miraculous³ or natural? Tanakh itself reveals very little, but the Midrash finds hints in a textual nuance, noting that Yonah 2:1 speaks of a "דָּג גָּדוֹל", while verse 2 mentions "מִמְּעֵי הַדָּגָה". 

This leads to the suggestion that originally Yonah was swallowed by a giant fish which provided Yonah with so much space and comfort that he felt no need to pray for deliverance. As such, Hashem had him expelled into a female fish who was filled with young, leading the cramped and miserable Yonah to request Hashem's aid. Though not a simple reading of the text, the Midrash highlights the question raised above: what function was the fish meant to serve?  Was it a manifestation of Hashem's mercy or justice? See Yonah's Prayer

Impact on Sailors

Where did Yonah Arrive?In Brueghel's painting, Yonah is expelled onto a deserted  shore, while in Romano's drawing, he lands in an inhabited area.  where did the fish leave Yonah?  Did it bring him all the way to Nineveh or to elsewhere?

¹ Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625) was a Flemish painter who came from a family of artists.  He is known for his versatility, making history and allegorical paintings, landscapes, and flower still lifes.  He often collaborated with his close friend, Peter Paul Ruebens. The painting is found in Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany.

² Giulio Romano (1599-1546), born Giulio Pippi, was an Italian painter and architect.  He was a student of Raphael and one of the initiators of the Mannerist style.  This drawing is currently housed in the Hermitage Museum.

³ On other words, was the creature itself a supernatural phenomenon or was only the fact of salvation miraculous?