There are countless artistic variations on this theme. Odilon Redon in his 1909 Jacob's Combat with the Angel ( oil on canvas, 143.5 x 62 cm, Brooklyn Museum, New York, pictured Jacob and the Angel as tiny figures dwarfed by giant trees. Naked, with twisted limbs and impotent, Jacob is no match for the imposing and effortlessly fighting Angel. By contrast, Chagall portrays two massive figures with thick limbs entangled in deadly battle.
Flesh presses flesh. However, the outcome has already been decided. Chagall depicts the moment of the combat when the Angel has wrenched the hip of the patriarch. Though still struggling Jacob has lost his balance, and has been forced to his knee. All at once his left arm appears to be painfully short and fragile. The signs of impending defeat are palpable in his up-turned face, the rumpled cloak and the dark coloring of the body. But Jacob's defeat is an honorable defeat. The winged angel is of colossal proportions. He has the body of a professional wrestler, but is nonetheless a figure of light intent on overcoming darkness and merging with the dawn breaking on the right side of the plate. But even on the verge of defeat Jacob will not let go. And for all his massive strength, the face of the angel shows signs of effort and strain. He is the one who pleads: "Let me go."
Henceforth, Jacob will be marked by God. A strained hip will be the tangible sign. It is the outward sign of his inner transformation. For all he wanted was a blessing: "I will not let you go, unless you bless me."
Related scripture reading: Genesis 32: 24-28
This page, maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio 45469-1390, and created by Jim Danis was last modified Wednesday, 04/18/2001 16:57:51 EDT by Jim Danis. Please send any comments to Johann.Roten@udayton.edu.
URL for this page is http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/gallery/works/jacobwrestlingwiththeangel.htm