Reliquary: After Delacroix
Reliquary: After Delacroix
Oil on canvas, hip bone of the artist, wood, brass
41 x 17 x 7
2017

The account of Jacob wrestling with the angel is found in Genesis 32:22-32 . The account is also regularly described as Jacob wrestling with God.
Jacob spent the night alone on a riverside. There, a mysterious being—considered to be an angel or God himself—wrestled with Jacob until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
This piece includes the hip bone of the artist as a relic.