Jonah and the Whale: Rebirth Motif
1 of 3
Object Label
John B. Flannagan’s interpretation of the Old Testament story of Jonah and the whale reflects his career-long interest in themes of life, death, and rebirth. In this relief sculpture, Flannagan depicted the contorted body of Jonah enclosed in a womblike shape, which is enveloped, in turn, by the larger silhouette of the whale. His stylized forms and carefully incised lines verge on abstraction.
A major proponent of the early twentieth-century practice of direct carving, Flannagan advocated a spontaneity of approach and truth to materials—highlighting the inherent properties of the medium itself. He once remarked: “There exists an image within every rock. The creative act of realization merely frees it.” The original piece of bluestone, which the artist kept in his studio for two years, likely guided the form and content of this composition.
Caption
John B. Flannagan American, 1895–1942. Jonah and the Whale: Rebirth Motif, 1937. Bluestone with wood base, 33 1/2 × 11 1/4 × 6 in., 61.5 lb. (85.1 × 28.6 × 15.2 cm, 27.9kg). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Edith and Milton Lowenthal, 1992.11.12a-b. Orphaned work (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1992.11.12_front_PS11.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Jonah and the Whale: Rebirth Motif
Date
1937
Medium
Bluestone with wood base
Classification
Dimensions
33 1/2 × 11 1/4 × 6 in., 61.5 lb. (85.1 × 28.6 × 15.2 cm, 27.9kg)
Signatures
Unsigned
Credit Line
Bequest of Edith and Milton Lowenthal
Accession Number
1992.11.12a-b
Rights
Orphaned work
After diligent research, the Museum is unable to locate contact information for the artist or artist's estate, or there are no known living heirs.Copyright for this work may be controlled by the artist, the artist's estate, or other rights holders. A more detailed analysis of its rights history may, however, place it in the public domain. The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
During the interwar years, John B. Flannagan was a leading American proponent of the method of direct carving—working directly on the material with one's own hands, instead of having the sculpture reproduced from a model using mechanical aids or assistants. He also believed that, within every rock, there was an image waiting to be freed by the sculptor. It took Flannagan two years to discover the subject matter for "Jonah and the Whale" in a piece of bluestone he found in the fields around Woodstock, New York. The work depicts the biblical prophet Jonah imprisoned in the belly of a whale, his punishment for disobeying God. (He was released after repenting.) In the color, shape, and texture of the stone, Flannagan found the basic form of his whale, adding economical incisions to articulate the creature's mouth, eyes, and fins. Jonah's fetal position and the biblical promise of redemption evoke the theme of rebirth—a persistent theme in Flannagan's art and a metaphor for his creative process.
The process of direct carving is really important for that time -- and the way the artist revealed the true nature of the material, its texture and contours, is fascinating.
Have information?
Have information about an artwork? Contact us at