Grace Emmett and Ryan D. Collman
grace.emmett@outlook.com; ryan.collman@gmail.com
The purpose of this note is to offer initial remarks about how one might read St Paul of the Thorns (Elizabeth Tooth, oil painting on linen, 2022) alongside 2 Corinthians 12:7b–10. The painting is part of an exhibition entitled Reimagining Paul and thus in this note we also reflect on the exhibition itself as a work-in-progress mechanism for how visual art might enable dialogue between academic and public spaces. In doing so, we will draw together visual arts interpretive methodologies, disability studies, exegesis of 2 Corinthians, and exhibition visitor feedback to consider the distinctive contribution of visual art to discussions of the apostle Paul and disability.
Portrayals of the Apostle Paul in visual art often depict him in line with several key narratives: his Damascus-road experience, his work as an itinerant preacher, his martyrdom, and his letter writing. The focus on these aspects of Paul’s life emphasise certain facets of his identity over others. While some depictions of his conversion or calling explore the temporary visual impairment Paul experienced (Acts 9),[1] he is primarily depicted as able-bodied.[2]
Recent research, however, has attended to some of Paul’s own descriptions of his body through the lens of disability studies, arguing that Paul can be read as a disabled figure.[3] A key text for such readings is 2 Corinthians 12:7b–10, in which Paul describes his “thorn in the flesh”:
Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:7b–10, NRSVue).
While both ancient and modern scholars have proposed numerous ideas for what this thorn might have represented, our work in this present note is concerned less with attempting to identify a specific impairment and more with conceptualising Paul’s identity and experience as a disabled person.[4] By attending to this aspect of Paul’s identity through visual art, we invite viewers to reimagine or reconsider this aspect of Paul’s identity.
St Paul of the Thorns is one of two newly commissioned works of art for a project called Reimagining Paul, the main output of which is an exhibition. The other commissioned work for the project is a neon text piece entitled I am more like this by Bettina Furnée. As a whole, the exhibition explores how visual art can enable fresh perspectives on Paul and the interpretation of his letters in contemporary society.[5] For the purposes of this piece, we will concentrate on St Paul of the Thorns because of its explicit engagement with disability but would encourage readers to visit the project’s website (www.sheffield.ac.uk/scibs/reimagining-paul or tinyurl.com/473zs96r) for more information about I am more like this.
Visualising Paul’s Thorn
The relationship between the interpretation of visual art and the interpretation of the Bible is often marked by mutual influence. As J. Cheryl Exum notes, “The Bible has played an inspirational role in art for centuries, and art has, in turn, influenced the way the Bible is read. Indeed, what many people know or think they know about the Bible often comes from more familiar representations of biblical texts and themes in the arts than from the study of the ancient text itself.”[6] Given the general representation of Paul in visual art as an able-bodied individual, the images and identity that most people associate with Paul reflect this artistic tendency. These are the images of the apostle that we culturally inherit—whether consciously or not—and as such they shape our perception of his body and identity.[7] At the same time, given the historical emphasis on Paul’s theological contributions, his body is often overlooked so that the resulting “scholarly construction … amounts to a disembodied Paul:” whereby exegesis of Paul’s letters is often detached from any consideration of the body, particularly Paul’s own body.[8]
For the Reimagining Paul project, Elizabeth Tooth[9] created an oil painting that transgresses this normative portrait of Paul, offering a visual interpretation of 2 Corinthians 12:7b–10 and Paul’s thorn in the flesh which places his body front and centre (Figure 1).[10] With this painting, we invite viewers to engage in “visual criticism” to see what story St Paul of the Thorns conveys to the viewer and how that story can be put into conversation with Paul’s own textual self-disclosure.[11]
In St Paul of the Thorns, Paul is depicted via the figure of Tooth’s husband, Owen, who has a disabling pain condition. While the painting is obviously not Paul in many ways—he is white, tattooed, and wears a wedding band—by depicting Owen’s body but titling the painting after Paul, the subject of the painting joins together aspects of both Paul and Owen’s identities, highlighting what they share in common: disability.
Rather than seeking to ascertain the underlying reality that Paul metaphorically describes as his thorn in the flesh, Tooth’s work leans into the metaphor by visualising it. The literal[12] and graphic depiction of these thorns highlight their disabling effect on the subject’s body. The thorns entangle him and constrain him, but his right hand also grasps them and lifts himself up by them. The subject’s gaze is fixed upon his bloodied right hand: might this convey an embrace or acceptance of the thorns in some sense? The painting is not directive in terms of how viewers should understand the subject’s relationship to the thorns, but does prompt the asking of that question. As Paul notes in 2 Corinthians 12:8–9, he asked God three times to take the thorn away, but God responded to him saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” With this knowledge Paul comes to accept the “thorn”, boasting gladly in his weakness so that the power of Christ might dwell within him, which leads him to proclaim that “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). While the thorn is still a thorn, it appears to have a spiritually prosthetic effect, enabling greater intimacy with Christ.[13] This is not necessarily to say that Paul therefore views the thorn positively, but he does attribute positive consequence to the thorn-caused weakness. Perhaps it is possible to see this dynamic at play in the painting: while the subject is constrained, he also lifts himself up by grasping at the thorns.
Reimagining a Disabled Paul
An important aspect of the Reimagining Paul project is offering viewers the opportunity to give feedback on the exhibition, including how their understanding of the apostle’s identity has changed or been challenged through works of art. In particular for this present note, we are interested in learning about how engaging with St Paul of the Thorns leads viewers to reimagine an embodied Paul.
Feedback can be given anonymously either via physical feedback cards or by completing a short online form. The number of responses received so far has been limited, but has yielded some interesting reflections, nonetheless. With respect to the painting specifically, viewers have said:
“The thorns ensnaring him as he lifts himself for relief show such a strength found in pain and discomfort and viscerally show what he is going through.”
“The oil painting … changed how I thought about pain and its relation to disability in the Bible.”
“Made me think about the nature of disability as a daily crucifixion.”
“The painting…explained pain—seen and unseen.”
“This piece prompts us to think about strength/weakness in masculinity, as well as about Paul’s participation in Christ and what this means (both for him and for others who are in Christ).”
“It shows Paul as a human being who suffered—that’s true and helpful.”
As scholars who are interested in embodiment and how that shapes our understanding of biblical characters and their identities, it is encouraging to see how St Paul of the Thorns—as visual criticism of 2 Corinthians 12:7b–10—has allowed these viewers to engage with Paul and reconsider his identity in relation to disability.
Conclusion: Reciprocal Reimagining
In this note, we have sought to build on existing conversations that identify Paul as a disabled figure, particularly with respect to 2 Corinthians 12:7b–10, by highlighting how visual art can facilitate different perspectives on biblical texts. We have done this with specific reference to one painting—St Paul of the Thorns—from our perspective as commissioners and organisers of the exhibition the painting belongs to: Reimagining Paul. This perspective has also allowed us to engage with feedback from visitors to the exhibition, bringing this feedback into dialogue with academic commentary on Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”.
As the exhibition continues and more people have an opportunity to engage with the works, it will be key to consider what the reciprocal potential is for reimagining Paul. In other words, while we hope the project will enable those who engage with it to see Paul from a different perspective, in what ways will our own perspectives of Paul change as a result of working on this project and engaging with partners outside of the usual parameters of academia (the artists themselves and venues hosting the exhibition)? Thus, we continue to look forward to learning from those who engage with this piece and their own reimaginings of Paul in light of his disability. By focusing on public engagement and the overall impact of the project, we hope that any further academic outputs we produce regarding Reimagining Paul will highlight the reciprocal nature of this project, which might lead to more projects within biblical studies going beyond the artificial boundaries of the academy and learning from those outside it.
Bibliography
Bazzana, Giovanni B. Having the Spirit of Christ: Spirit Possession and Exorcism in the Early Christ Groups. Synkrisis. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2020.
Berdini, Paolo. The Religious Art of Jacopo Bassano: Painting as Visual Exegesis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Carvaggio. The Conversion of Saint Paul. Oil on cypress wood. 1600-1601. Odescalchi Balbi Collection, Rome.
Dewey, Arthur J. and Anna C. Miller. “Paul.” Pages 379–426 in The Bible and Disability: A Commentary. Edited by Sarah J. Melcher, Mikeal C. Parsons, and Amos Yong. Studies in Religion, Theology, and Disability. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2017.
Emmett, Grace. “Becoming a Man: Un/Manly Self-Presentation in the Pauline Epistles.” King’s College London, PhD diss., 2021.
Exum, J. Cheryl. Art as Biblical Commentary: Visual Criticism from Hagar the Wife of Abraham to Mary the Mother of Jesus. Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies 676. London: T&T Clark, 2019.
Mitchell, Jolyon. Martyrdom: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Moss, Candida. “Christly Possession and Weakened Bodies: Reconsideration of the Function of Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh (2 Cor. 12:7–10).” Journal of Religion, Disability, and Health 16 (2012): 319–333. doi:10.1080/15228967.2012.731987.
Murray, Peter, Linda Murray, and Tom Devonshire Jones, eds. “Saint Paul.” Pages 437–40 in The Oxford Dictionary of Christian Art and Architecture, 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Robbins, Vernon K., Walter S. Melion, and Roy R. Jeal, eds. The Art of Visual Exegesis: Rhetoric, Texts, Images. Emory Studies in Early Christianity 19. Atlanta: SBL, 2017.
Shantz, Colleen. Paul in Ecstasy: The Neurobiology of the Apostle’s Life and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Soon, Isaac T. A Disabled Apostle: Impairment and Disability in the Letters of Paul. New York: Oxford University Press, 2023.
Tintoretto. The Martyrdom of St Paul. Oil on canvas. 1556. Madonna dell’Orto, Venice.
Waldschimdt, Anne. “Disability Goes Cultural: The Cultural Model of Disability as an Analytical Tool.” Pages 19–27 in Culture—Theory—Disability: Encounters Between Disability Studies and Cultural Studies. Edited by Anne Waldschmidt, Hanjo Berressem, and Moritz Ingwersen, Disability Studies: Body—Power—Difference, 10, Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag, 2017.
[1] For a classic depiction of Paul’s temporary visual impairment, see Carvaggio, The Conversion of Saint Paul, oil on cypress wood, 1600-1601, Odescalchi Balbi Collection, Rome.
[2] On the standard presentation of Paul, see Isaac T. Soon, A Disabled Apostle: Impairment and Disability in the Letters of Paul (New York: Oxford University Press, 2023), 2; Peter Murray, Linda Murray, and Tom Devonshire Jones, “Saint Paul”, in The Oxford Dictionary of Christian Art and Architecture, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), 437–40.
[3] Various models exist for conceptualising and analysing disability e.g., the medical model, social model, and cultural model. The medical model of disability is an individualised approach that views disabilities as medical problems needing to be solved. The social model makes a firm distinction between impairment and disability, shifting the “problem” of disability onto society for failing to adequately include those with impairments. Lastly, the cultural model does not assume disability to be a fixed entity, but rather a construction shaped by cultural discourse with a historically constituted (as opposed to essentialist) definition. For a discussion of these models, see Arthur J. Dewey and Anna C. Miller, “Paul”, in The Bible and Disability: A Commentary, ed. by Sarah J. Melcher, Mikeal C. Parsons, and Amos Yong, SRTD (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2017), esp. 380; Anne Waldschmidt, “Disability Goes Cultural: The Cultural Model of Disability as an Analytical Tool”, in Culture—Theory—Disability: Encounters Between Disability Studies and Cultural Studies, ed. by Anne Waldschmidt, Hanjo Berressem, and Moritz Ingwersen, Disability Studies: Body—Power—Difference 10 (Bielefeld: Transcript, 2017), 19–27; Soon, A Disabled Apostle, 4–11.
[4] For an up-to-date overview of the history of interpretation of Paul’s thorn, see Soon, A Disabled Apostle, 18–22. Some examples of identified impairments include physical afflictions resulting from persecution, chronic illness, head or ear ailments, a particular opponent, or some cosmic force. Soon identifies Paul’s thorn as a demonic force that dwelled in Paul’s body—the messenger of Satan mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:7. On this identification, see also Giovanni B. Bazzana, Having the Spirit of Christ: Spirit Possession and Exorcism in the Early Christ Groups, Synkrisis (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2020), 165.
[5] The Reimagining Paul project expands on Grace Emmett’s doctoral research (Grace Emmett, “Becoming a Man: Un/Manly Self-Presentation in the Pauline Epistles” [King’s College London, PhD diss., 2021], which utilised masculinity studies to examine Paul’s self-presentation in his epistles. Reimagining Paul is based out of the Sheffield Centre for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield. It is funded by the Sir Henry Stephenson Trust and multiple Knowledge Exchange grants awarded through the Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) project at the University of Sheffield.
[6] J. Cheryl Exum, Art as Biblical Commentary: Visual Criticism from Hagar the Wife of Abraham to Mary the Mother of Jesus, Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies 676 (London: T&T Clark, 2019), 3.
[7] For example, Paul’s martyrdom is typically portrayed as heroic; Tintoretto’s The Martyrdom of St Paul (1556; oil on canvas; Madonna dell’Orto, Venice) portrays the event as a type of spiritual victory that leads to immortality, represented by the attending angel waiting to crown Paul with a laurel wreath. For a brief history of visual portrayals of martyrdom, see Jolyon Mitchell, Martyrdom: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 6–20.
[8] Colleen Shantz, Paul in Ecstasy: The Neurobiology of the Apostle’s Life and Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 3.
[9] To learn more about Elizabeth Tooth and her work, visit https://tinyurl.com/mwmaxx8b.
[10] On visual exegesis, see Vernon K. Robbins, Walter S. Melion, and Roy R. Jeal, eds., The Art of Visual Exegesis: Rhetoric, Texts, Images, Emory Studies in Early Christianity 19 (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2017); Paolo Berdini, The Religious Art of Jacopo Bassano: Painting as Visual Exegesis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997).
[11] “Visual criticism” is a method coined by Exum that describes “an approach that addresses [what a work of art can teach us about the biblical text] by focusing on the narrativity of images—reading them as if, like texts, they have a story to tell—and reading an image’s ‘story’ against the biblical narrator’s story” (Exum, Art as Biblical Commentary, 7).
[12] While Paul’s thorn has typically been interpreted metaphorically, Candida Moss has made the case that a literal reading of the thorn is also plausible in light of ancient medical theory. Candida Moss, “Christly Possession and Weakened Bodies: Reconsideration of the Function of Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh (2 Cor. 12:7–10)’, Journal of Religion, Disability, and Health 16:4 (2012) 321–22, doi:10.1080/15228967.2012.731987.
[13] Emmett, “Becoming a Man”, 115. On bodily weakness enabling “Christly possession”, see Moss, “Christly Possession and Weakened Bodies.”