Tobias Stimmer and Johann Fischart, Neue Künstliche Figuren Biblischer Historien, grüntlich von Tobia Stimmer gerissen: Vnd zu Gotsfoerchtiger ergetzung andächtiger hertzen, mit artigen Reimen begriffen, durch J F.G.M. (Basel: Bei Thoma Gwarin, 1576). Web (JSTOR).
“Jonah and the Whale”
The illustration above depicts a scene from the classical Biblical tale, “Jonah and the Whale.” In this story, Jonah is consumed by a whale and held in the stomach of the beast until he acquiesces to God’s commands. While the most common translation of the story has Jonah being eaten by a whale, the original Hebrew description of the beast that eats Jonah is more accurately translated as a “Big Fish.” This mistranslation is indicative of the whale’s infamous reputation as a monster in the medieval era.
Tobias Stimmer (1539-1584) was a Swiss painter and illustrator who primarily worked on wall paintings, such as his famous “Haus zum Ritter” in Schaffhausen. A student of Hans Holbein the Younger, he was also well known for developing biblically inspired woodcuts. The image on display is a typical example of his work. In it, Stimmer depicts the whale as a stereotypical sea monster, only taking care to represent the monster’s large maw and winding tail.
Dimitri Ratner