I can't believe there's a movie about Noah with Russell Crowe and Hermione in it. Part of me wants to see it, even though I think it will be really stupid. To me, one of the most interesting parts of the whole Noah story happens after the flood's over and isn't generally covered in Bible School. What happens is, Noah builds a vineyard, and one day he gets really drunk and gets naked for some reason. Then, one of his sons, Ham, comes in and laughs at him. This painting is by Giovanni Bellini, I think it's pretty funny because you can see Ham (in the middle) laughing like a little bitch.
Ham goes and gets his two brothers to show them, but they do this weird business where they back into the room and cover him, and then back out again.
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| James Tissot "lalala we don't see anything" |
Then Noah wakes up, gets mad, and curses
Ham's son, for some reason.
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| Gustave Dore - Overreact much? |
I learned this whole story when I studied art history -
The Drunkenness of Noah has been a popular subject for artists. Some scholars (and artists) assumed that some improprieties took place while Noah was passed out drunk, which seems fairly likely, as drunkenness and nakedness goes.
What I find interesting is that, while this appendix to the story of Noah is mostly unknown today, it was a very popular subject through the ages. Here's a scene on a panel from the famous bronze doors of the Florence Baptistry, by Ghiberti:
And here it is by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel:
This last one is not famous, but I love the look on everyone's faces. Ham's like, "Isn't this
great? Dad's drunk
and naked!" and the brothers are all, "Oh, for Chrissake, pull yourself together."
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| Luini Bernadino |
I wonder if all this will be in the movie?
