Musings on Art and Rembrandt

In January I will begin a Gateway Group focused on encouraging women to find their identity through hearing God's voice and creative expression. For me, this is the next step in a journey of self-discovery about my own identity and the way God has uniquely wired me for creativity.

In so doing I have dug into studying works of art and the artists who created them. I have also been allowing God to talk to me through a variety of creative media - movies and the books containing the stories of artists whose works I admire. Among the artists I choose to study one would find the names Rembrandt, Degas, Van Gogh, Renoir, Thomas Kinkaide, Georgia O'Keefe, Picasso, and Toulouse-Lautrec (whom I actually researched and studied in my one year of art at age 14). I also found myself researching the quotes of many more like Claude Monet.

Why all this focus on artists you may ask? Honestly, I do not know for sure except that something in me needs to discover why they painted. With the exception of Modern Artists, many of those considered masters from previous centuries ended up impoverished and saw little success in their work while living. It led me to questions.

What drove them to paint when most of them ended up paupers and penniless?

What were their beliefs about God and life?

And, so I write today after reading the first few chapters of a study on Rembrandt written by Greg Watts. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn born July 15, 1606 and died October 4, 1669. As I've perused his paintings and begun reading the history of this seventeenth century Dutch painter I realize a bit of what I know of myself. He painted because in painting life happened for him.

He painted during a time when many artists went to Italy to study the masters like Michelangelo, Raphael and Da Vinci. Rembrandt however, stayed close to his home in the Netherlands and studied under Dutch painters as an apprentice.

Rembrandt's work may be identified with the Baroque movement which Watts writes was "characterized by movement, strong emotion and dramatic light and colouring."

In his lifetime the artist created a large body of work centering on his own self portrait. His last portrait of himself painted in 1669:

Mr. Watts comments on this Self Portrait, "....we see a face that has tasted not just triumph, but also disappointment and suffering. Yet we can see in him wisdom and dignity: he has come to terms with who he really is and what the true meaning of life is."

Wisdom. Dignity. A man who has come to terms with WHO. HE. REALLY. IS. A Man who has come to terms with WHAT. THE. TRUE. MEANING. OF. LIFE. IS.

Here are two of his works that I think reflect such truth:



The first is Belshazzar's Feast. The classic story of the handwriting appearing on the wall from the book of Daniel which predicted the fall of the Babylonian Empire to the Medo-Persian Empire.

This painting depicts the adulterous woman being brought to Jesus for condemnation. The work reflects such light around the woman, she is not disgraced or nude, but clothed in brilliant white. A picture of redemption.

Watts goes on to say "Rembrandt's ability to penetrate what it is to be human transcends religious boundaries, and people of all faiths or no faith can be moved by it."

Greg Watts goes on to note that Rembrandt's education began at the age of six when he was sent to school for basic education in reading and writing. At nine he was transferred to Latin School but his interest in studies leaned only to drawing and painting. Watts writes, "...that only painting and drawing were able to fully engage his young mind."

Which brings me to the answer to that question I asked early, why did he paint?

Rembrandt painted because that is who God created him to be. His mind and his heart fully inclined into that which he was passionate about and his paintings reflect not only his identity as an artist, but his identity in Christ as well.

Visual arts by nature are creative expression. If we turn to the Bible to gain understanding about creativity we need look first to the book of Genesis.

Genesis 1:1-3 (NKJV)
¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
² The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
³ Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.

God's Spirit hovered over the face of the waters, as the Us of God created light. If we look on into the New Testament, we find the role of Jesus in creation:

John 1:1-5 (NKJV)
¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
² He was in the beginning with God.
³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

As God the Father orchestrated the plans of creation and the Spirit hovered over the body of the created, through Jesus all things were created. Scripture assures us that NOTHING was created without Him.

Now let me ask you this, how did God create? Go back to the first verse of each passage above. He spoke things into existence and the primary way He has spoken is through Jesus. Interesting right. Hearing the voice of God is really the only prerequisite for creativity. Understanding His creative nature can lead us to open doors we might never consider in our lives.

What is our role in this creative thing that is going on around us?

Genesis 1:27 (NKJV)
²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

We are created in the very image of God, and on earth we reflect His image and glory. If we are in Christ, He is in us and if He is in us then all of the nature of God fully resides in us. God in His very nature is creative. If His nature fully resides in us and we reflect His image on the earth then our identity in Christ, our position in Him, is the only qualifying indicator for creative expression.

Rembrandt realized this in his life's work and I'm beginning to learn it as I develop the ability to express creatively from my identity in Christ and the things I see and hear as I relate to Him.

God created you to be creative, too. A creativity that expresses His nature and glory on this earth. Technical art skill is valuable and may be developed but without the creative nature of God at work in you art would not be possible.

Many of the "masters" have been known to say that art is a lie that reveals the truth. I choose to believe that art is a light that allows us to express the truth of God within each and every one of us. In you lies a Masterpiece of God's design. My question for you today is this: How long will you wait to fully express it?

A Racing Champion

I buy the little matchbox size replicas of his race car. I have an Office Depot Coat sporting his sponsors and the #14 insignia. I watch NASCAR faithfully each weekend 36 weeks a year and pray to God that Tony Stewart wins the race because I enjoy it seeing him win. I tell people, "He's my driver."Last night I watched a very gracious Tony Stewart act like a grown up professional car owner/driver and stand up guy as he accepted his reward and addressed a group of fans and his peers in Las Vegas, Nevada. I guess you can say I am an obnoxious NASCAR fan.

Tony raced for Joe Gibbs Racing up until 2009 when he branched off with the help of Rick Hendrick to co-own his own race team Stewart-Haas Racing. Prior to that time some of the things that made Tony fun to watch happened to be his penchant for speaking his mind and his unwillingness to take any guff off of anyone. He remains the picture of a competitor by nature.

He is known as a bad boy of racing. Even last year he had an altercation at a race track in Australia that landed him in jail. And based on a 2008 Rolling Stone interview and a number of off color remarks on radio snip-its and interviews there is little question that the bad boy image rings as true as his stellar performance in this year's chase. Though the writer of the article in Rolling Stone suggests that he only depicted one side of Stewart and there is a whole other side that is an honorable gentleman you can't escape his on camera performance as a bad boy.

In 2004 just before he won his second NASCAR (Sprint) Nextel Cup Series a book about him was written and is available through christianbooks.com. He supports Christian Drivers in the sport like Morgan Shepherd and spent a lot of time with Joe Gibbs racing under the Joe Gibbs Racing Banner. I cannot say that Tony Stewart is a Christian, though his mother reports that she goes to church with her husband each week and prays for her son while he races.



I wrote a post called NASCAR and Perseverance a few months back when Tony won the first race of the Sprint Cup Chase at Chicagoland Speedway. The following week I watched again as Tony won the New Hampshire race as well. I later would share with my life group gals that I felt like God was redeeming time for me this year.

In 2005 Tony won the Nextel (now Sprint) Cup championship just a few short months after my son passed away. I rarely watched a race after August of that year and missed the final moments of Tony's big win.

Still, I picked up watching my beloved NASCAR the following winter/spring when we attended the Texas race in April and watched Tony finish second only to Kasey Kahne. A great time indeed.

I pray when Tony races. I know that seems weird, but I pray for the drivers and the race crews. I pray for them. I root for the Nationwide drivers who are more prominently known for their faith like Trevor Bayne and Blake Koch. I honor people like Joe Gibbs who so boldly live out their faith and I root for the underdog Morgan Shepherd who has been racing for 40 years and somehow gets his Victory in Jesus team to the tracks for the Nationwide series each week.

It is not lost on me that an invocation in Jesus' name is offered before each race and most drivers honor that time by bowing their heads and closing their eyes. That chaplains at the track pray with drivers, offer them the opportunity to do Bible study and mentor drivers along the way.

I sometimes think that Tony struggled so hard in those years after 2005 because something he was doing didn't mesh - there was no favor, just sheer determination.

So, come back with me to this year's chase. A win at Chicago and New Hampshire boosted him forward and then he won at Martinsville and again at our very own Texas track. My husband literally thought I had lost my mind - he even told the dog I am crazy, though he is the one talking to the dog. I whooped and hollered and jumped and celebrated each win. Now, let me just say that I began to pray at Martinsville, "Lord would You allow Tony Stewart to win this race, and if not Tony then the one who would give You the most glory to win the chase."

By the last race in at Homestead-Miami the standings had landed in a dead heat. Tony lingered just 3 points behind Carl Edwards. The two started a little back in the pack very close to one another. It would be a race to the finish and in the end a champion would be crowned. But, just a few laps in, Kurt Busch lost his transmission in the #22 car and Tony's car collected damage from debris that had been deflected into his grill off the track.

After a few lengthy runs down pit road during the caution, Tony's car restarted in the 38th position. Though the grill of his car had to be replaced that radiator had not sustained any damage - a miracle by the account of Larry McReynolds who is a NASCAR commentator and former crew chief.

He drove back up to 9th before pitting again and then restarted back in the 20s. In the meantime, Carl Edwards ran his #99 Ford up front most all day and received the additional bonus point for leading the most laps by race end. However, Tony continued to push through the obstacles he experienced on the race track

After a number of cautions and passing more than 100 cars to regain positions near the front of the pack on multiple occasions Tony took the lead in the waning laps of the race and beat out a very loose Jimmy Johnson for the race win which led to a tie between he and Carl Edwards for the championship title. The tie breaker would be determined by who had the most wins. With five total wins in the last ten races, Tony easily clenched the title spot over his competitor Carl Edwards who had not won a single race in the entire season.

Still, Carl Edwards walked out to Tony as he drove down the straightaway parallel to pit road and congratulated him. He later told a reporter, "I told my wife I would be the best loser that NASCAR ever had."

As I watched Tony cross the finish line, I praised God for answering my prayers and letting me enjoy the win of my favorite race car driver's championship season. And then, something totally unexpected that I have never seen before happened during the post race interview with Tony Stewart.

When asked about his emotions after winning both the race and the chase for the championship, Tony said: “Oh God, thank the Lord for this one. Man I’m telling you it’s been a tough summer and a tough fall for us, and you’ve got to believe in something and the Man upstairs (gestures with a finger to the sky) and He held this rain off long enough, just long enough for us to get this job done so this is for Sprint and for all these fans up here who stuck it out all weekend here…”

http://youtu.be/rTc4veTw1C0

His acceptance speech was peppered with gratitude and graciousness toward his co-owners, Darian Grubb (his outgoing crew chief) and especially to Carl Edwards of whom he said, "You are not a loser, you will always be a winner."

Worth every moment, and a reminder that God answers prayers in the most unexpected way. I've never heard Tony Stewart speak of God before in all the years I have observed him in NASCAR, but I heard him that night after I asked God all those weeks to allow the racer to win that would give Him the glory. Tony Stewart won and did. Thank you, Lord for even these little things that remind me of Your love for me.