Afternoon Art: "The Hermit" by Gerrit Dou
A few months ago, when I had the liberty to go to the National Gallery of Art in person, I "met" a few paintings that I wanted to get to know better. We chatted a bit as we looked at each other and decided to get coffee at a later date. That date never came, so here I am at my home office with an herbal tea and spending time getting to know some of these paintings digitally.
One that stood out to me the most is "The Hermit" by Gerrit Dou. I initially walked past it, but stopped a few paces ahead, turned around and came back and stood in front of it soaking it in for a little while. It was delicate and quiet, beautiful and hopeful. The face of peace of the hermit speaking to the cross with his heart was a look I only feel when I am with a very good trusted friend. I looked more...
It was painted in 1670 by a Dutch painter who normally liked painting his subjects with happy friends and family in the painting and lots of candles making shadows and light in the painting. Gerrit was a student of Rembrandt and like many artists at the time, he was fond of using the painting method of ciaroscuro (light and dark), which was made popular by Italian painter Caravaggio in the 15th century. However, Gerrit Dou decided to paint something a bit unlike his typical subjects who were mostly family scenes of friendship, cooking and learning.
Here, he digressed his normal subjects and opted for a lone hermit. Isn't this kind of what has happened to us? We went from our normal life with our "subjects" in our commute and office life, to a mini-hermitage at home contemplating death through a virus. Is the hermit really alone? Are we really alone? No, we are never alone with Christ. The hermit is contemplating not only death but life through the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. He is simple, not in a house with many types of food and distractions, but only a few essential things to help him meditate: the Bible, a cruicifix, an hourglass, and a scull. When I visited the art gallery I stood looking at this painting and talking to the hermit. I asked myself what the hermit ate before going into the forest, how long he would stay there, and why was he even there to begin with? What propelled him there? What would propel me into the forest with a cruicifix and Bible? Perhaps he is onto something...love through hope past death pondered upon in the forest.
These last few weeks of being homebound has made many of us a type of hermit by limiting being among other groups of homo-sapiens or at least given us the chance to retreat into thinking about death. How have we thought about death? How and have we thought about life? Life is what gives hope. Eternal life with love is hope forever. Or have the ears to our heart been quieted by the noise of death? It's so hard not to hear that loud TV voice when it seems like the responsible thing to do is to listen to the news. But perhaps the hermit has a better answer.
What I like most about this painting is how the hermit looks with great love to life through the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. He doesn't look at death, the light of the lantern that has been consumed, or the skull, or the passing of time on the hourglass. He has his hands folded in prayer over the Bible and is looking and praying as he looks at life through the crucifix. I really wonder what he is thinking. He seems to be having an intimate conversation with Jesus.
Yes, we must think about death, your death, my death, we are all headed towards a flat line of a heartbeat sooner or later. But if we look at this painting, we see there is some wood, wood on the cross with Jesus crucified, leaning on an empty basket and wood of the tree which grows leaves. Three of these objects of wood in the painting signify life. The tree grows leaves in the darkness and the death of Jesus (in darkness) also grows life by promising life after this physical one we are experiencing.
Lastly, the empty basket the cross leans on signifies the empty tomb of Jesus demonstrating how He overcame death by rising. There are other symbols of life in this painting such as the overturned pitcher on the ground that is symbolic of knowledge (water) feeding the dry barren ground and thus growing life through the grass. "He who drinks of the water I give will never thirst. The water I give him will become a well springing to eternal life." John 4:14.
I hope I can be more like the hermit and contemplate life, eternal life and the next chapter so to speak. I hope I can put aside things that distract me and invite me to just think of death and things that will remain on the earth.
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| The National Gallery of Art in DC |
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| My favorite gallery at the moment is the Dutch and Flemish gallery |
One that stood out to me the most is "The Hermit" by Gerrit Dou. I initially walked past it, but stopped a few paces ahead, turned around and came back and stood in front of it soaking it in for a little while. It was delicate and quiet, beautiful and hopeful. The face of peace of the hermit speaking to the cross with his heart was a look I only feel when I am with a very good trusted friend. I looked more...
It was painted in 1670 by a Dutch painter who normally liked painting his subjects with happy friends and family in the painting and lots of candles making shadows and light in the painting. Gerrit was a student of Rembrandt and like many artists at the time, he was fond of using the painting method of ciaroscuro (light and dark), which was made popular by Italian painter Caravaggio in the 15th century. However, Gerrit Dou decided to paint something a bit unlike his typical subjects who were mostly family scenes of friendship, cooking and learning.
Here, he digressed his normal subjects and opted for a lone hermit. Isn't this kind of what has happened to us? We went from our normal life with our "subjects" in our commute and office life, to a mini-hermitage at home contemplating death through a virus. Is the hermit really alone? Are we really alone? No, we are never alone with Christ. The hermit is contemplating not only death but life through the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. He is simple, not in a house with many types of food and distractions, but only a few essential things to help him meditate: the Bible, a cruicifix, an hourglass, and a scull. When I visited the art gallery I stood looking at this painting and talking to the hermit. I asked myself what the hermit ate before going into the forest, how long he would stay there, and why was he even there to begin with? What propelled him there? What would propel me into the forest with a cruicifix and Bible? Perhaps he is onto something...love through hope past death pondered upon in the forest.
These last few weeks of being homebound has made many of us a type of hermit by limiting being among other groups of homo-sapiens or at least given us the chance to retreat into thinking about death. How have we thought about death? How and have we thought about life? Life is what gives hope. Eternal life with love is hope forever. Or have the ears to our heart been quieted by the noise of death? It's so hard not to hear that loud TV voice when it seems like the responsible thing to do is to listen to the news. But perhaps the hermit has a better answer.
What I like most about this painting is how the hermit looks with great love to life through the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. He doesn't look at death, the light of the lantern that has been consumed, or the skull, or the passing of time on the hourglass. He has his hands folded in prayer over the Bible and is looking and praying as he looks at life through the crucifix. I really wonder what he is thinking. He seems to be having an intimate conversation with Jesus.
Yes, we must think about death, your death, my death, we are all headed towards a flat line of a heartbeat sooner or later. But if we look at this painting, we see there is some wood, wood on the cross with Jesus crucified, leaning on an empty basket and wood of the tree which grows leaves. Three of these objects of wood in the painting signify life. The tree grows leaves in the darkness and the death of Jesus (in darkness) also grows life by promising life after this physical one we are experiencing.
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| Though this tree seems dead, it grows new life. A parallel to our life after death, though our body be dead our soul will keep living. |
Lastly, the empty basket the cross leans on signifies the empty tomb of Jesus demonstrating how He overcame death by rising. There are other symbols of life in this painting such as the overturned pitcher on the ground that is symbolic of knowledge (water) feeding the dry barren ground and thus growing life through the grass. "He who drinks of the water I give will never thirst. The water I give him will become a well springing to eternal life." John 4:14.
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| Water giving life. Jesus is the living water. A lifestyle of freedom in Him alone. |
I hope I can be more like the hermit and contemplate life, eternal life and the next chapter so to speak. I hope I can put aside things that distract me and invite me to just think of death and things that will remain on the earth.
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