A painting I saw recently in the University of Michigan Museum of Art that had a sundial in it puzzled me a great deal, and I still have a question about it. The painting is called the Illness and Cure of Hezekiah by B. Flemalle. I started out knowing little about it, but have learned this much.
It relates the story of a Biblical miracle (II. Kings, Chapter 20, verses 1-11). Hezekiah is told he'll get better, but he wants a divine sign. He wants the shadow to move backwards on the sundial 10 degrees. It happens. The painting shows mostly Greek type things, but all the writing on the sundial appears to be Hebrew. A local rabbi was kind enough to try to translate the writing. There are three words on the sundial face. He says they are south, east, and west. They are arranged the way they would appear on a south-facing sundial. The gnomon is clearly moved off center - to the left. This would easily make the shadow move backwards, and to a 17th Century viewer the whole painting might make sense at a glance. The part about the painting I still don't understand is what should be the numerals. One would expect them to run counterclockwise, but they too seem to be in Hebrew - although the rabbi who looked at them could not decipher them. They could be numerals - or something else. I hope to learn the meaning of them eventually. For sundial enthusiasts around Ann Arbor, I'd certainly recommend a look at the painting. I'm curious too to know now where there might be other famous paintings that feature sundials. Sam Muller [EMAIL PROTECTED]
