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Monday, January 17, 2005
Van Gogh and the Sea of Life
When I was in grad school I wrote my thesis on Vincent Van Gogh's theology, particularly his interest in the Sea motif, which for him symbolized as an invitation to spiritual life: a life where we are called to risk, to go beyond the borders of our familiar ground. A few clues led me to this conclusion. First, Vincent wrote about the sea imagery a number of times in his letters. Second, written within the same month when he was in Saintes-Maries to paint "Fishing Boats on the Beach at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer," he made a comment about Eugene Delacroix's "Christ in the Boat on the Sea of Gennesaret." In this painting, Jesus is peacefully asleep in the storm, while his disciples are in terror. In this same letter, he revered Jesus as an artist, much like himself.
The first part of his Sea-of-Life theology deals with action: to throw oneself "into the depths" to catch something (L121, 3 April 1878, Letters 1:167). He points at the need to take risks, to confront one's finitude by facing death, to embark on an adventure of an unknown future. He did this very well: he left the art-dealing business, then he left the academic route to enter a missionary training school to do ministry at the Belgian mining district, then he left for Paris, and then for Arles in Southern France.
Second, he highlights transitoriness as the constant with which we have to put our lives in accord, that is, "we move with the ebb and flow" (L265, 8 February, Letters 1:536). Our true element is not the shell of the "academic way." Although we dwell in our shells, we are called to break out of it and drive ourselves to the open sea. His process of breaking away is clear in the ways in which he viewed the institutional religion of his father, and also the way he viewed academic norms of doing art. For him, the academic school is "detestable [and] tyrannical" because they are filled with people, which he called "Pharisees of art," who put on a "cuirass, a steel armor, of prejudices and conventions." So to Vincent, pharisees of art are those who have too much ground under their feet--the sort who "attach too much importance to the good in [themselves];" they refuse to break the walls of self-centeredness and move with the ebb and flow of the sea.
Third, as humans we cannot tarry out in the sea forever; one should come back to solid ground to be in one's "cottage" (R6, 23 November 1881, Letters 3:318). However, remaining too long in the cottage is neither advisable. As he broke away from normative ways of understanding Christianity or art, he always found his relationships with others in tension, such as his parents and some of his friends. As much as he felt comfortable of being by himself while doing intensive work, he always needed his deep friendships with his family, such as Theo, and friends so he can express his will, conviction and principles--so he can fully express his full potential as an artist and religious thinker.
For questions about my thesis paper: "God's Call to Creativity and Adventure: An Analysis of Vincent Van Gogh's Sea-of-Life Theology and Fishing Boats on the Beach at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer," e-mail me at donnelmutia@hotmail.com . This material is accessible at the Graduate Theological Union's "Flora Lamson Hewlett Library" in Berkeley, CA.
Read Vincent Van Gogh's Letters in:
The Complete Letters of Vincent Van Gogh. 3 vols. Introduction by V.W. van Gogh. Preface and Memoir by Johanna van Gogh-Bonger. Greenwich, Conn.: New york Graphic Society, 1958.
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