Sadak in Search of the Waters of Oblivion

English painter, John Martin’s, Sadak in Search of the Waters of Oblivion (1812), depicts hope in the face of insurmountable odds.

Within a dramatic landscape of craggy mountain tops, the Persian nobleman, Sadak, pulls himself onto a precipice, as shafts of light relieve the intense red glow pervading the scene, forecasting his successful quest.

John Martin’s Sadak in Search of the Waters of Oblivion (1812) could be seen as a metaphor of the struggle the Christian Sexual Addict faces within the modern culture-a culture well practiced in the commodification of sex to sell anything from oatmeal to cars. In the face of insurmountable odds there is hope.

This painting came to me in a most unusual way. I had just lost a job, and I was feeling really dejected. I went to my “happy place,” the Saint Louis Art Museum. I go there for escape.

I was standing in front of this painting by John Martin, when a woman came up, and stood beside me. I didn’t say anything. We both stood in front of the painting admiring it. Then she spoke, “This was my son’s favorite painting. He died in a bicycle accident in France. He would often say that the painting was a metaphor of life. That Sadak’s position is were we find ourselves many times in life.” I could so relate, because that is where I was. I could totally identify.

We talked a little more about our favorite paintings in the museum. She said her cordial goodbye, and was gone.