My favorite painter is Vincent van Gogh. I am deeply touched by the ways in which he unveils the everyday and sometimes heartbreaking realities of this world while at the same time ennobling them with a breathtaking spiritual transcendence. His conflicted life was no doubt the price he paid for his ability to see in ways that no other human being has ever be able to see before. His spirituality was profoundly deep. Quotes from his life reveal a wisdom which matches the most insightful theologians and philosophers. As Don McLean sings in his beautiful song Vincent (also known as Starry, Starry Night), “This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.”
My friend Spike Wright shared with me an amazing clip from the British series Doctor Who. Once you know something of the story of Van Gogh’s life, this piece of TV fiction takes on special meaning. Although there is some debate regarding how many paintings Van Gogh sold during his life (from one to twenty-something), we do know that he never sold enough to allow him to live without the financial and emotional support of his beloved brother Theo. Vincent van Gogh, probably the greatest painter who ever lived, died largely unacknowledged and unappreciated. He never knew the impact he would have on the artistic world and the common man and woman. With this totally insufficient background, we are ready to appreciate the scene from Doctor Who.
The year is 2010. Vincent van Gogh has been brought back into the world and is taken to the Paris Musee d’Orsay, a museum containing some of the greatest works of art ever created. He is enchanted by all the beauty around him. He’s led into a gallery which contains his paintings, but he missed seeing the sign which read “VINCENT VAN GOGH”.” Slowly he recognizes his works of art, but he doesn’t presume that those works have a right to be in such a prestigious museum, and he fears the reactions of those looking at his paintings. He is genuinely and humbly confused.
Doctor Who approaches Dr. Black, the curator he had talked with several days before, and asks him, “Where do you think van Gogh rates in the history of art?” Van Gogh is listening and fearful of hearing the response of the art expert. The curator replies, “To me, van Gogh is the finest painter, certainly the most popular great painter of all time. And the most beloved. His command of color, the most magnificent. He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world—no one had ever done it before. Perhaps no one ever will again. To my mind that strange, wild man who roamed the fields of Provence was not only the world’s greatest artist, but also one of the greatest men who ever lived.”
Van Gogh weeps uncontrollably at hearing these words. Doctor Who comes to him and says, “Vincent, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Is it too much?” Vincent replies, “No. They are tears of joy.” Van Gogh goes over to thank the curator and kisses him on both cheeks.” Dr. Black is puzzled. He has no idea Vincent van Gogh is standing before him. How could he know that he has just given the greatest painter of all time and one of the greatest men who has ever lived the greatest joy and reward Vincent had ever received for his life’s work. As Dr. Black walks away, he pauses to look back. Perhaps he notices how much this visitor looks like his idol. Perhaps he entertains the notion that time has been transcended and he has been privileged to meet van Gogh. But he quickly shakes his head no and walks on. Such a meeting would be impossible. (You will have to watch this scene to appreciate its impact.)
“He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty.”
As I reflected on this scene, two thoughts surfaced. First is the observation of the curator of how van Gogh used his passion and pain to portray the ecstasy, joy, and magnificence of this world. “He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty.” Perhaps it was his pain which allowed him to see the world with fresh and transcendent eyes. Every one of his paintings reveals something deeper and beyond the surface. Even the painting of a pair of worn-out shoes reveals the nobility of peasant labor which allowed for survival in an unjust and harsh world. From that portrait we can imagine the years of toil which characterized the life of one of the meek who would inherit this earth according to another Artist. Would we be blessed by Vincent’s works if he had not suffered so much in life?
According to some Quakers, our lives can be works of art. As artists, we each strive for excellence–not to compete with others but to give birth to love, truth, and beauty in this world. And my suspicion is that the “success” of every one of us in these endeavors is related to how we transform our pain into ecstatic beauty. The Paschal mystery references such a pattern. I do not mean by this that God requires or causes the pain in our lives. However, as Longfellow said, “Into each life some rain must fall.” No one is exempt from the cost of living in this world. Everyone’s story includes experiences of pain. Perhaps the greatest gift we can bestow on others is to find ways to use that pain and to transform it into compassion, empathy, and even joy. If we fail in transforming this pain into beauty, that pain is wasted and misses the healing and redemption of transformation. Empathy and compassion, perhaps the most needed qualities in this world, almost always require some degree of suffering to allow for solidarity and connectedness. Without such qualities there is no hope for any of us or this world God so loves.
We each choose whether we will bless or curse others as we live from day to day.
My second thought focuses on van Gogh’s genuine and humble surprise at how much his paintings became appreciated after his death. He had no idea of the impact he would make on the art world and in the lives of common people through his unique talent and perspective. And of course, neither do we know how our legacy will impact this world. We each choose whether we will bless or curse others as we live from day to day. If we choose to live lives of integrity and compassion as we seek to bring justice, healing, and joy into this world, we will probably never realize in this dimension the difference we have made. Like George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, we may even feel that as far as our individual impact on this world is concerned, we may as well have never been born.
But we can never know in this dimension of existence the difference we have made for goodness in this world, or how that impact can reverberate into the future, or how God can use such gifts of love in that next dimension when all the loose ends in this world are tied up in healing and transforming ways. As artists in life, we all “paint” this world through the choices we make, the dreams we embrace, and the love we flesh out in common time and space. And if there is a God who loves and who has Her eye even on the tiny sparrow, we can trust that no act of compassion or justice will be wasted. In God’s economy of grace, it will all be used, even our little lives, as the Ultimate Artist paints Her dream of shalom. And among the brush strokes which created that painting will be found evidence of our lives continuing to make a healing and loving difference.
