The Contest of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (I Kings 18: 20-46) 1699 - 1768

Stefano Pozzi rendered this drawing of the Contest of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal with chalk in 1757. Notice Elijah standing resolute on the right, gesturing towards the frenzied, flailing prophets of Baal. The prophets' desperate gestures echo those found in ancient depictions of ecstatic rituals, linking them to a timeless expression of religious fervor. Think of the Maenads, participants in the wild, orgiastic rites of Dionysus, their bodies contorted in similar states of religious ecstasy. Yet, here, the fervor is in vain. Their god does not answer. Elijah’s calm defiance embodies a different kind of power—one rooted in divine assurance rather than desperate appeal. This contrast stirs deep within us, tapping into primal instincts about faith, authority, and the eternal struggle between order and chaos. The image of a lone figure challenging a multitude resonates even today.