Click image to see large image
The Fall of Jericho (1969)
The subject is the Israelite conquest of the Canaanite city of Jericho related in the Book of Joshua (chapter 6). Obeying Divine orders, Joshua commanded his warriors to make a circle of the walls of the city, followed by seven Cohanim [priests], each blowing on a Shofar [ram’s horn], once a day for seven days in a row. On the final day, the procession was to walk around the city perimeter seven times and, in addition to the sounding of the horns, the Israelites were to utter a loud cry. The walls of the city then came tumbling down and victory was secured.
Draped in a rich blue robe, Joshua takes centre stage, with his arms outstretched, directing the proceedings. To his right, behind and in the foreground, are assembled the Israelite warriors, armed with shields and spears. To his left, closest to the walls, are six trumpeteers sounding their long curved horns. The seventh Cohen stands in front with his back to the viewer. On top of the walls are massed the city’s doomed inhabitants looking down on the spectacle below.
The ashlar limestone walls of the city are clearly hewn from the limestone hills that form the backdrop to the oasis ‘city of date palms’ in the valley below.
It is remarkable how the artist captured the bright light and colour of the Land of Israel in The Fall of Jericho, although he did not see it for real until years later, in 1987, his only visit.