Learning from Henri Nouwen & Vincent Van Gogh A portrait of the
Mrs Berry attended a course in 1978 by mr. Nouwen where the teacher expressed all the magnificient message left by Vincent Van Gogh not just as a painter, but first of all as a sensitive, wonderful, touching, human being in grade to be compassionate, close to people, in the particular the last ones of the world, peasants, later miners.
Being Vincent Van Gogh's dad a pastor, peasants were a strong reality in the church he ruled and often, Vincent's father asked him of joining him during his visits. Years later Vincent wrote to his brother Theo: "Even as a boy I sometimes looked up with endless sympathy and respect into a half-withered female face where it was written,
as it were: life and reality have left its mark there."
People who forged his character and entered in his soul for remaining there forever.
The existence of Van Gogh as we all know has been difficult, unlucky, and being a sensitive person of course difficult for this reason as well. Although his father was a pastor, he didn't meet as also writes the author, a great compassion from his family. They would have wanted to see more real consistency in what he was doing, but the decision of dedicating his years to an art's life meant most of the times lack of money.
Theo, in particular, his brother will always remain close to him.
But what does the word compassion mean? To suffer with. Being compassionate is sharing with other a common destiny, being close, comforting and understanding.
As adds the author Saint Paul wrote ones: "Always consider the other
person to be better than yourself, so nobody thinks of his own interests
first but everyone thinks of the other people’s interests instead."
When Van Gogh left his house he began a trip that brought him at the Hague, Paris, London. Here he worked for an art dailer but this work didn't have success and after a while Vincent left London embracing the cause of the miners in the Borinage.
He did it with simplicity and, living his life to the fullest and protecting the rights of the miners who, at first saw this boy with great diffidence.
Consolation means cum solus with , so alone with and as adds Berry, it's not so simple to stay close to someone in the sufferance, because sometimes we stereotyped sufferance or just because we would want to fly away, without helping our relative or our friend in the sufferance. I experienced a lot of sufferances but I can tell you people evaporated where not strong enough for helping; but let's add this, it is human.
The new existence of Van Gogh was characterized by compassion in particular regarding the poorest people around him like a prostitute in trouble. There will be also a love-story but it ended up tragically because the girl, pressed by her family returned to be a prostitute, a profession that permitted her of earning a lot of money.
After this experience Van Gogh went to Drenthe. Continuing to potraying peasants.
and "feeling them" as wrote to Theo: "One must paint the peasants as being himself one of them, as feeling, thinking as they do themselves."
Ready for the biggest world, Van Gogh won't never return home once he again, left Holland.
Berry explains that: "Every human being does have a great, yet often unknown, gift to care, to be compassionate, to become present to the other, to listen, to hear, and to receive. If that gift would be set free and made available, miracles could take place."
Paris meant to Vincent and Theo a wonderful experience thanks to the vibrant parisienne life and the new knowledge he had about color theory.
What Van Gogh did from this moment was to research spasmodically for vibrant colors and that light in grade to make the difference. Bright colors were compulsively added for bringing joy in the darkest corners of people's existences.
When in Arles Van Gogh would have wanted to create a studio but the only one agreed was Paul Gaugin and as we all remember that friendship and sodalice brought Van Gogh at an ugly moment of auto-lesionism: for a reason or another he cut one of his ear with powerful consequences for his health; frequent seizures, a lot of headache. And depression. Gaugin terrorized escaped away when discovered what his friend caused to himself. Destination Paris.
More than a year spent at Saint-Rémy for recovering, Theo insisted: he had to live with him and his family.
It hasn't been another great success and at the end Van Gogh returned home one day with this apparently episode of suicide. He didn't die immediately: two days later, assisted by Theo.
It is still disputed this story because yes, maybe it was a suicide but maybe also a probable accidental shooting. We won't never know that and Theo didn't add anything in any letter, too devastated for the departure of his creative brother.
I have been touched by a sermon of Steve, the husband of mrs Berry. I knew a person like Lyn, someone who loved to share, making happy and joyful other people.
I add some of the sermon.
"Lyn didn’t have any money because he put people before money.
He valued friendships more than he valued things. He gave every-
thing he had, wherever he was. Men and women are generally
valued by what they acquire. It’s one of the big lies, of course, that
we are what we own. Lyn measured life and its value by a higher
standard. Material wealth came in far, far behind an extensive list
of priorities, topped by helping others. That’s what he did. He left
behind a legacy of people he had helped and nurtured. You never
had to ask Lyn to help with anything; he was always one step
ahead of the asking. He always offered; he never sat by and ex-
pected someone else to do what he could do or to help where he
might help. Lyn did not grasp for things. He did not measure his
life over and against others....Lyn taught us how to trust. He taught us that you could have your heart broken and still go on loving. He taught us that sacrifice for the
ones you love is never too great.
The book is divided in three parts: Solidarity, Consolation and Comfort with a lot of paintings of Van Gogh's production. A real joy for the eyes.
I thank NetGalley and InterVarsity Press for this ebook.
Anna Maria Polidori
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