My prior Art posts can be found HERE.
How do we move away from being a civilization that produces art that causes comments like, “my five year old could make this,” back to being one that creates beauty and inspires deep questions? We must reject modernity and embrace tradition. To embrace tradition, we must first learn about it.
Let’s study art history together.
Noah’s Ark
| Artist | Edward Hicks |
|---|---|
| Year | 1846 |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 30.39 inches wide by 26.31 inches high |
| Location | Philadelphia Museum of Art |
This painting is almost as interesting for its painter as for its subject. Edward Hicks was an American Quaker minister and a self-taught painter. He lived from 1780 to 1849, which means he was alive for the Presidency of George Washington and died just before the Compromise of 1850 (which set the young nation on a path toward eventual Civil War.) Hicks ended up being a relatively famous artist in his own lifetime, and was probably most well-known for a series of paintings called “The Peaceable Kingdom” that were based on the Bible’s Book of Isaiah, Chapter 11.
This painting is among the most famous ever done on the subject of Noah’s Ark. There’s something very charming and dream-like in the way he paints the animals. It might simply be that the self-taught painter aimed at perfect accuracy and that this was the extent of his skill. Or it might be that the style was a choice. I tend to think the answer is the latter given that the style seems consistent throughout his works. The thing that stands out most to me is the way that the ark is bright – a symbol of hope and safety – while the animals look dull and somewhat muted. The exception though is the lamb standing front and center.
Hicks painted this work, near the end of his life, in an increasingly unstable time. The War of 1812 was still in somewhat recent living memory, the West was still untamed, the drumbeat for war between North and South was starting to pound. In that sense, the subject matter of the famous Ark probably felt comforting. In that story, Noah endured immense calamity but goodness was found on the other side of that destruction. Perhaps that was the hope of this Quaker minister, too. It’s notable to me, in that regard, that he’s featuring the animals as they board the Ark rather than as they exit. He may have felt troubled times were beginning and the painting was a reminder that those times can be endured.
(for more on the painting, via catholicart)
Historical Context of “Noah’s Ark” (1846)
Hicks completed “Noah’s Ark” in 1846, just three years before his death. The mid-19th century in America was marked by rapid social, religious, and territorial expansion. Amid these changes, many artists and thinkers looked to biblical stories and symbols to address contemporary anxieties and hopes. For Hicks, Noah’s Ark was not just a tale of salvation but a potent allegorical tool to explore themes of faith, obedience, and redemption.
Hicks’ Quaker background profoundly influenced his interpretation of biblical narratives. The Religious Society of Friends emphasized pacifism, humility, and the direct experience of God. These values are woven into the fabric of his paintings, where he often presents biblical figures as gentle and communal, rather than grandiose or wrathful.
Religious and Cultural Significance
The story of Noah’s Ark, found in the Book of Genesis, is one of faith, renewal, and divine covenant. Noah, chosen for his righteousness, builds an ark to save his family and pairs of every animal species from a cataclysmic flood. After the waters recede, the rainbow appears as a sign of God’s promise never to destroy the earth by flood again.
For Christian and Jewish audiences alike, the Ark represents humanity’s potential for redemption and God’s enduring mercy. In the 19th-century American context, the story resonated as a parable for new beginnings amid uncertainty. Hicks’ painting channels these themes, using the Ark as a symbol of hope and unity in turbulent times.
Symbolism and Iconography
“Noah’s Ark” brims with symbolic meaning, conveyed through every detail of Hicks’ composition. The central focus is the Ark itself, rendered as a sturdy, almost childlike vessel, radiating safety and divine protection. Around the Ark, pairs of animals—lions, elephants, horses, birds—wait on dry land for embarkation, emphasizing the inclusivity and peace of God’s plan.
This gathering of diverse animals reflects Hicks’ preoccupation with harmony among all God’s creatures—a theme central to Quaker thought and his larger body of work. The peaceful coexistence among the animals also alludes to an idealized vision of the world restored to an Edenic innocence.
The figure of Noah, often shown guiding the process or engaged in prayer, stands as a testament to steadfast faith and human cooperation with the divine. In some versions of the painting, Hicks includes the rainbow as a clear visual of God’s covenant.
Artistic Techniques and Folk Art Aesthetics
True to his folk art roots, Hicks employs a straightforward, almost naïve, approach to form and perspective in “Noah’s Ark.” The use of oil on canvas allowed for rich, saturated colors and a smooth, durable finish. His palette is warm and earthy, dominated by greens, browns, and soft blues, which evoke a sense of natural peace and stability.
Hicks often flattens spatial perspective, arranging figures and animals in rows or clusters rather than receding diagonally or recapturing classical depth. This compositional choice gives the scene a sense of order and calm, focusing the viewer’s attention not on dramatic action, but on the moral clarity and unity of the moment.
Detail is lovingly bestowed on the animals, each uniquely characterized with careful brushwork and an almost whimsical touch. Rather than striving for anatomical accuracy, Hicks prioritizes personality and symbolism, inviting viewers to consider the spiritual meaning behind each creature.
Impact and Legacy
“Noah’s Ark” and other works by Hicks have had a strong influence on American folk art and the depiction of biblical subjects. His paintings provide rare insight into Quaker worldviews and have been admired for their earnestness and imaginative quality.
Hicks’ ability to weave together religious morality, communal ideals, and pastoral imagery created a lasting visual language for American faith and identity. His works, once regarded as simple devotional aids, are now recognized as sophisticated meditations on peace and coexistence. Museums, collectors, and historians continue to celebrate “Noah’s Ark” for its spiritual symbolism and its place within both the folk art canon and the broader sweep of American art history.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, as interest in folk and outsider art has grown, Hicks’ paintings have gained renewed appreciation for their honest style and universal themes. They are referenced in discussions of “primitive” American painting and remain relevant in explorations of art as a vehicle for faith, community, and moral vision.
Sources
- The National Gallery of Art. “Noah’s Ark by Edward Hicks.”
- Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Edward Hicks: Biography.”
- Encyclopedia Britannica. “Edward Hicks: American Painter.”
- Philadelphia Museum of Art. “Edward Hicks and the Peaceable Kingdom.”
- Smithsonian American Art Museum. “Edward Hicks: Artist, Preacher, Peacemaker.”
