Painting in a Plague

Portrait of Titus, Rembrandt (1653)

A letter I read months ago, by Henri Nouwen, has become quite unexpectedly relevant:

just a little note on a beautiful Rembrandt card. Rembrandt painted this portrait of his son in a time full of unrest, with the black plague going on around him and much political upheaval. We have forgotten most of the misery of the 17th century but this portrait is still there to lift up our spirits. I keep thinking about this as I wonder what to do when all around me there is so much human suffering. Rembrandt seems to say that it is important to do well the few things we can do and remain faithful to our vocation, limited as it may seem.

I’m humbled by many compassionate and courageous people, whose vocation it is to care for the sick, each day with increasing uncertainty - my sister in New York, my housemate here in Toronto. Their stories, and the ones from news sources worldwide make me very thankful, and challenge me. Yet this is not my vocation - I am currently somewhere in the messy intersection of becoming an architect, dabbling as an artist, and a theology student with more questions than answers.

I find myself continuing to consider questions that have lingered since the outset of my studies, regarding the role of art and beauty. Presently they seem especially paltry, yet Nouwen suggests that art may uplift, and Rembrandt may teach us to turn our attention away from ourselves. Such art has value that outlasts a plague - a worthy pursuit. I’m reminded of a book I read last semester, Elaine Scarry’s “On Beauty and Being Just”. She describes various ways that beauty acts on us, to increase our sensitivity and attentiveness. Beauty, she suggests, displaces us and shakes us from our habit of considering ourselves as the centre of the universe. Here I see a parallel with beauty of gospel, as it directs our gaze to Jesus, the culmination of all of God’s plans, (opaque as these plans may seem to us in today's uncertainties). And this same Jesus calls us out of ourselves, to love God and neighbour.

Sheet of Studies, with a Woman Lying Ill in Bed

Another touching work by Rembrandt comes from his sketchbook. Here he appears to have set out to sketch some figures, perhaps a study for a scene. But instead he becomes absorbed in capturing his beloved wife in her last days in delicate sketches, before she succumbed to illness, perhaps the plague. I don't think Rembrandt or Nouwen are asking us to overlook the suffering around us, in pursuit of beauty. Rather, they seem to be encouraging us to continue to do what we can, attentive to those around us, seeking to offer something to them. And it seems to me, doing so may afford a beautiful glimpse of the gospel.

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Sources:

Portrait of Titus, https://www.wikiart.org/en/rembrandt/portrait-of-titus-1653

Sheet of Studies, https://www.themorgan.org/rembrandt/print/161902

Love, Henri: Letters on the Spiritual Life, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Letter to Nathan, Feb 4, 1993, p 306.