Bible Artist's Models

I've received some interesting emails recently that I thought I'd share with you.
Philip Hanna contacted me from Kentucky in the U.S. to tell me that his mother, an Armenian lady, now 86 years of age, has a very interesting friend. Philip's mom grew up in Palestine and her close friend Najibe (Nadia) Kattan was the model for Mary (right) in Elsie Anna Wood's Bible illustrations. Philip received a phone call from Najiba only yesterday. She now lives in Los Angeles. Phil said that whenever his mom sees EAW'S pictures of Mary, she can recognize her friend's face from many years ago. Philips parents served for many years as Presbyterian missionaries in Lebanon.


I also received an email a few weeks ago from Linda Martin in Ontario, Canada whose great grandfather was William Hicks. Hicks worked on a farm in Shoreham Kent, and was the model for Moses (left) in Harold Copping's Bible illustrations.
Linda wanted to see Copping's pictures of Moses to see what her great grandfather looked like. As I still don't own a 'Copping Bible', I forwarded her request onto Dr Sandy Brewer.
Sandy Brewer was also contacted a few weeks back by the son of Henry Wickenden. Henry Wickenden was the model for the African boy in Copping's famous painting 'The Hope of the World'. Although Wickenden was not black, he was chosen because of his thick curly hair!

When I last spoke to Bible artist Keith Neely, he had a staggering 21,479 photos which he had taken of models in Bible costume! And that was for the Old Testament alone!
I suggested that when he and his team finish the 7,600 illustrations needed for the Thomas Nelson Illustrated Bible, that he should upload the best of these reference photos onto the web, or maybe bring out a collection of them for sale on dvd! If you would like to see some samples of Keith Neely's Bible figure reference photos, click here. This is one of Keith's Bible illustrations (right) which is in a different style to the one adopted for the T.N.I.B.
Image © Keith Neely 2008

Valerie Neild from London contacted me to ask if any of our readers might have any more information on Bible Artist William Hole? Valerie is a relative of William Hole and would like to find out more about him. If you have any information, please pass it on to me and I will forward it on to Valerie. Many thanks.

My Favorite Bible artist #7

William Brassey Hole. 1846-1917.

I've been wanting to add William Hole R.S.A. to my 'favorite Bible artists' list for some time, as It was his 'artists notes' that accompanied his Bible pictures in the book 'The Life of Jesus of Nazareth' that provided the inspiration for me to set up the 'Bible illustration blog.'

William Hole was the only child of Richard and Anne Hole, born in Salisbury in 1846. His father was a doctor, and the family soon relocated to Edinburgh where William received his education at the Edinburgh Academy. Hole served as an apprentice to a civil engineers in the city before deciding, in his early twenties, that he wanted to see more of the world. While traveling through Italy he befriended some artists in Rome who convinced him that he should pursue a career in art. On returning to Edinburgh he began formal training in both painting and etching at the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA).
Hole specialized in the painting of historical and Industrial subjects as well as landscapes, and around 1900 he traveled to the Holy land to begin work on the 80 watercolors that would appear in 'The Life of Jesus of Nazareth.'

Hole's Biblical costumes
There is no doubt, as can be seen from his artists notes, that Hole sought to capture historical accuracy in his Bible pictures, and to this end, with the help of David Whiting (an expert collector of Palestinian village costume), he purchased a collection of traditional Palestinian costumes to use for reference in his paintings. Artist William Holman-Hunt, one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, also had a large collection of Palestinian costumes that he used for reference in his Bible pictures. This picture which represents Mary and Martha with Jesus shows the women dressed in traditional 19th century Bethlehem costumes. A feature of traditional women's Palestinian clothing are the ornate panels of intricate embroidery which were attached to the front of the dress. As these panels involved a lot of work they were detachable, and could be moved from dress to dress as the girl grew.

Hole's Biblical architecture
All Hole's paintings were done 'on the spot' and although his desire was to capture authenticity in his pictures, he still relied heavily on the existing buildings around him for reference which resulted in the painting of many Byzantine architectural features that were not found in Biblical times. You will notice for instance in the painting (top right) the wooden window box feature. These appear a lot in Hole's Bible paintings Dr Leen Ritmeyer informs me that these wooden window boxes "date from the medieval period. They were never used in Biblical times. Same with the dome which appears in the top picture".
I've already mentioned in an earlier post about Hole's use of Byzantine embellishments, similar to those found on the 'Dome on the Rock' on his depiction of Herod's Temple. Having said this though, very few Bible artists put in as much study and detail into their buildings as Hole did.

Hole's depiction of Jesus
Hole's depiction of Jesus is like no other! In fact, if you were unfamiliar with Hole's Bible paintings, you would be hard pressed to actually pick out Jesus in a crowd! The reason for this is that Hole paints Jesus wearing a 'keffiyeh' the traditional Arab headdress for men. Hole's figure work, although not as strong as Harold Copping's, is still very helpful for reference.

Hole's Legacy
Anyone who has visited the Holy Land, on seeing Hole's paintings, always comment that he has managed to capture the very atmosphere of the land. Both his use of light, and the colors used in his landscapes make Hole's Bible pictures truly memorable. It was no doubt his method of painting 'on the spot' that helped him to capture these essential ingredients in his pictures.
Hole's book 'The Life of Jesus of Nazareth' comes up regularly on Ebay and includes very helpful 'Introductory notes' by Dr George Adam Smith, Professor of Old Testament Theology, a very lengthy 'Preface' by William Sinclair, Archdeacon on London, and of course the artists own notes on each picture.
If you are interested in the pictures alone, there's a publisher here that has plans to reprint all eighty of Hole's Bible pictures.

Related posts:
Favorite Bible Artist #1 Frank Hampson
Favorite Bible Artist #2 Nestor Redondo
Favorite Bible Artist #3 Clive Uptton
Favorite Bible Artist #4 Cicely Mary Barker
Favorite Bible Artist #5 Harold Copping
Favorite Bible Artist #6 Carl Heinrich Bloch

What did Herod's Temple look like?

I've just been working on illustrations for the Bible story of 12 year old Jesus' visit to the Temple with Mary & Joseph for the feast of the Passover, (Luke 2:42). This is one of a number of New Testament stories that takes place in Herod's Temple complex. Because the Temple appears in so many stories, it's important that Bible artists have some idea of what it looked like. The Temple took a staggering 43-46 years to build, although it was never fully completed in accordance with the original design. The Temple was built in the classical Roman style. The reason it's called Herod's Temple is because it was 'Herod the Great' who, in an attempt to gain the favor of his Jewish subjects, ordered the rebuilding of the Temple on a much grander scale. The Temple was almost completely destroyed in A.D. 70, (which Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24:1-2).

We see little evidence in Bible pictures of construction work taking place on the Temple despite the fact that during the whole life of Jesus the Temple was under construction! Bible artist William Hole didn't miss this fact, as in at least two of his paintings you can see construction workers in the background working on the Temple! Hole is one of the few artists who showed the Temple in great detail. His picture (left) shows the 15 semicircular steps that led from the 'Court of the Women', through the 'Nicanor Gate' to the 'Court of the Priests' in which stood the 'Alter of Sacrifice'. My only criticism of this picture is the use of Byzantine paneling on the walls. (similar to that seen on the exterior of the Dome of the Rock). Hole was heavily influenced by Byzantine & Arab architecture during his visit to the Holy land, as can be seen from his use of dome topped buildings in his Bible pictures. The other point was that the Court of the Women was actually outside, not inside as this picture clearly shows. Hole would have easily realised this, had he had access to one of the many scale models of Herod's Temple. Sadly, they were all built after his lifetime.


Alec Garrards Temple Model
In my quest to find out more about the Temple I purchased a copy of Alec Garrard's book 'The Splendor of the Temple', (available from Amazon). Suffolk farmer Alec Garrard devoted 18 years to creating a scale model of Herod's Temple which is reputed to be the best in the world! The model measures 20 feet by 12 feet in size. The book contains detailed photos of the model from all angles so it's a great reference guide for Bible artists. This model really has to be seen to be believed. Every single clay brick used in the construction of this model was hand baked in Mr Garrard's oven! The book describes in detail every area of the Temple both above and below ground and suggests the areas of the Temple where the various Bible stories took place.

How do we know what Herod's Temple looked like?
After all, as I've already mentioned, it was almost completely destroyed by the Roman army in A.D. 70! Although there is very little detailed information recorded in the Bible about Herod's Temple, there are several reliable sources that describe in detail what the Temple looked like. The following sources were used by those involved in reconstructing scale models of Herod's Temple:
Firstly, they had the writings of Jewish historian Flavius Josephus who lived during the time of Herod's Temple and witnessed it's destruction. To give you some idea of the exorbitant sums Herod spent on the Temple, Josephus speaks of marble being "overlaid with gold!"
The Mishnah, which is a codification of the oral Jewish law, was also a rich source of information for researchers regarding the Temple.
In addition to this, they had of course all the archaeological evidence, and the writings of expert archaeologists like Dan Bahat and Dr Leen Ritmeyer who I believe have written much about the Temple complex. Alfred Edersheim's book 'The Temple: It's Ministry and Services' also proved helpful to researchers and model makers alike.

Architectural details
I've been reading about ancient Jewish Art to try and get an idea of what type of images would be found decorating the interior walls of the Temple. I mentioned in an earlier post that the 'Star of David' was not used till much later but images of seven stick menorahs have been found carved in stone from this period and earlier.
There is some surviving stonework from the Temple that shows that the Herodian craftsmen were careful to use decorative styles that conformed to Jewish law, (no figurative representation). Any figurative representation would contravene the second commandment. Instead elaborate floral motifs were used which included Vine and Acanthus leaves. Later, in the 3rd and 4th cent A.D, when Jewish art became more Hellenised, figures in a Hellenistic-Persian style were found in synagogues, both on floor mosaics and wall frescos.
in I Kings 7:25. The walls of Solomon's Temple had embroidered tapestries of cherubim hanging on them, and of course we read in Exodus 26 of the artistic designs of cherubim being woven into the curtain of the tabernacle. (See the 'Drawing Cherubs' post). I would like to find out more about the internal furnishings of the Temple, so if you know of any good books or links, please let me know.

There are a number of scale models of Herod's Temple around the globe. As well as Alec Garrards 1/100 scale model in the U.K, there was also one in the grounds of the 'Holyland Hotel' in Jerusalem, (which has since moved to the Israel Museum). Another can be found in the 'Holy Land Experience' in Orlando, Florida, and there is a 1/300 scale model made by 'York model makers' which is available from Dr Leen Ritmeyer.
There's only one difference that I've noticed between these models, and that is the design of the four giant 'Lamp stands' that stood in the 'Women's Court'. I can only assume that the descriptions given of them in the sources mentioned above were unclear.

Related posts:
Interview with Dr Leen Ritmeyer
Herod's Temple Mount model update