A bit about Abel

The painting of Abel is the first in a series of 10 from Hebrews 11. The basic plan of the project is to present these saints as objects of God's faithfulness, rather than powerful intercessors or "Faith Hall of Fame" heroes of piety. The paintings will be very Christocentric. Each individual will be located in their own architectural niche, in the manner of a traditional 3-D respresentation of figures in church art (and secular art for that matter). This serves to "house" the figure, and in this isolated environment the focus rests on the iconographic aspects communicated.

Abel is depicted as a young man, referencing that his life was cut short before his time. The palm that he is holding is a symbol of martyrdom, as we may consider Abel to be the first person who was killed for his faith. As his primary garment, he is wearing a dark, ragged fur tunic. I conceived of this as a reference to the garments of skin that God made for Adam and Eve as they were driven from the Garden. I thought of it as being black, sackcloth-esque, as the original sin of his parents passes to Abel. More clearly, though, are these garments understood as Gospel. They are given by God to cover the shame of sinners, through the sacrifice of another-- an allusion to Christ. The dark garment is tinged with red, a reference to both the shed blood of Abel as well as the blood of Christ. The blood of Abel is mentioned in the Bible as much as (or more than) Abel himself, and it is depicted as "loud," speaking out, crying for justice; the voice of the Law. As the hymn summarizes: "Abel's blood for vengeance pleaded to the skies/ But the blood of Jesus for our pardon cries."

The use of these colors may also bring to mind the highly relevant explanation of the interior of the Luther Rose: "The first thing expressed in my seal is a cross, black, within the heart, to put me in mind that faith in Christ crucified saves us. 'For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.' Now, although the cross is black, mortified, and intended to cause pain, yet it does nor change the colour of the heart, does not destroy nature- i.e., does not kill, but keeps alive. 'For the just shall live by faith,' -by faith in the Savior."

To emphasize this covering, Abel is also given a large, light wooly drape. This connects him with the lamb beside him, identifiably Christ, who takes away the sin of the world. The color of the drape and the lamb suggests innocence.

Next to Abel is a stone altar with a lamb. First, this of course helps the viewer to identify Abel in terms of the story of his acceptable sacrifice, as Abel kept flocks and in faith brought "fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock" as an offering to the Lord. This faith, for which Abel is commended, springs from the faithful God's promise of deliverance. The lamb, holding a cross-shaped staff with a white standard, is clearly a representation of Christ, the promised deliverer. Christ (or a lamb) with the standard is often used as an Easter symbol; the lamb has overcome sin and death and clears the way for the resurrection. The lamb cranes back to make eye contact with Abel. This gesture is one of the reassurance of resurrection and life. The lamb will have a bleeding wound which sprinkles the altar, in reference to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and the sprinkled blood, which speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Please do click on the following Bible passage links to read a bit more about Abel and the concepts that went into this painting. It'll make the visual choices make that much more sense!

Genesis 4:1-16
Matthew 23:29-39
1 John 3:11-16
John 11:25
Matthew 5:21-24
Revelation 6:9-11
Hebrews 12:22-24
Hebrews 11:1-4

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On an utterly unrelated note: man, is this ever funny. Thanks to Uncle Joel for recommending this satirical "Christian news" website. The power ballad thing is so true.