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| Vanitas, Pieter Claesz 1625 |
Ecclesiastes 1:1-2 & 2:21-23
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.
Today you've probably engaged in a few discussions about where you were on September 11, 2001. You may have even replaced your Facebook profile pic with an image of the Twin Towers or posted a memorial message to your status. At home, at work and at school, today was a day that everyone reflected on that sad day twelve years ago. Like many I remember where I was and what I did when I heard the news. I remember what I did for the rest of the day. I also remember the day after and how we said that everything had changed. We've said that everyday since then. In the immediate days surrounding those acts of terrorism I remember other acts of kindness, acts of heroism, acts of selflessness, acts of patriotism, acts of fear, acts of prejudice, acts of confusion and acts of regret. The acts of regret were probably the most curious. It seemed like it affected those geographically closest to New York the most. Yes, there were two other regions that felt the attacks of September 11th but New York seems to stand out the most because New York is America's crown jewel. New York is the capital of the world and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center represented the currency that oils the wheels of the whole mechanism. The acts of regret were a mixture of penance, reflection and bewilderment. It usually came out in questions about the value of what we had spent our individual lives doing. Questions like "What's the point of it all?" Everything that we had worked for was now in shambles. Our achievements were extinguished: caught up in a puff of smoke and ash. When we are confronted with death (and death on a mass scale) it causes us to consider our own mortality and assess our activities.
I've mentioned before that I'm an Evangelical. Evangelical isn't really a specific definition but a catch all group for Contemporary Theologically Conservative Protestants (I'm not part of the political part of this group and I can vary in my theological conservativeness) who believe that the Gospel must be spread. Evangelicals can be pretty fire & brimstone when discussing judgment and life outside of Christ, but once you jump aboard the Jesus train its pretty smooth sailing (Sorry, I just mixed my metaphors there). We can be pretty positive in our worship and if we do discuss the hard times that we may face it is usually with a positive spin. We'll throw in a "weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning" reminder. This is a positive thing because you don't want people to be feel that their isn't hope. I respect anyone who ties to encourage others in their hard times. But sometimes life can be pretty tough and people should be allowed to have their sad moments. Their is no crying in football, but there is in the Church. Sad days are important. Historically Christianity is a religion of both feasts and fasting. There is much celebration but there are also times to remember things that are hard to find a bright side to. There is a time and a place for mourning. A bright side is still there in the end... somewhere. There are some sad days that make you rethink everything that you've ever done (dumb or smart) and ask "What's the point of it all." That is the reason for the book of Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes is a sad book. King Solomon (King David's son) is attributed as the writer. I sometimes wonder if he needed medication when writing this book. Yes, I understand that may sound disrespectful to say that about a book of the Bible... but seriously, have you read it? I mean, have you read the whole thing (it's fairly short)? Try reading it all. All books of the Bible should be understood in their context and Ecclesiastes is definitely at the top of that list. It doesn't have a flicker of a bright side until the end. Solomon was very rich. As the son of a king he was born rich . The kingdom of Israel grew under his rule and he built the temple at Jerusalem, so he also knew success. Solomon was known to be very wise and was honored as such in his own lifetime. Then there was the women: he reportedly had 700 wives and 300 concubines. There wasn't much that Solomon doesn't possess. Yet at the twilight of his years he pens Ecclesiastes. He looks at his life and asks "What's the point of it all?"
Still Life painting is a polarizing genre of Art: either you like it or you don't see the point of it. If you like it then it is probably because it matches the new couch you bought (that needs something to hang above it). If you don't like it or see the point of it then you are probably why so many artists paint bowls of fruit on tables with clock, wine goblets, violins and a random skull in the middle (like dinner at Ozzie Osborne's house). That isn't always the table spread in all of these painting but it is in many. You have a few of those items in the painting "Vanitas" by Peter Claesz. Vanitas or Vanity is also the name of the sub genre of still life painting that it resides in. There have always been paintings that are purely about objects (even if they are painted for an art student's exercise) but Still Life painting as a major art genre really took off after the Northern Renaissance. It is mostly due to the Protestant Reformation. For much of Protestantism's history, there has been existed a current of iconoclasm (a religious resistance to using images). This is due to a certain interpretation to the second Commandment that doesn't consider that the ancient Israelites are commissioned by God after the ten commandments to create certain images (like those on the Ark of the covenant). The second commandment doesn't prohibit the creation of images but rather it prohibits the worship of them. So in reaction to the Catholic Church's abundance of images, many of the seceding Protestant movements shied away from even biblical imagery. Most of their ornamentation was focused on design and architecture. There is one exception to this (specifically in the Protestant countries of Northern Europe and that was illustration of the Proverbs (and Ecclesiastes was lumped in with them since it is a similar type of literature). The funny thing is that most protestant areas didn't put a full scale ban on imagery in paintings, but rather religious imagery (which could include Greek and Pagan imagery)... something that could be worshiped. You were free to have pictures of your grandparents, nature or still life. So still life became an ornate way to symbolically represent the Proverbs, Psalms, an occasional Gospel parable and passages from Ecclesiastes. Vanitas/Vanity paintings were all about Ecclesiastes. Like the Old Testament book the paintings discuss the seeming vanity of everything when one considers the fleeting nature of it all. Gorgeous displays of riches and feasts will reveal (on further inspection) that the ripe fruit is actually decaying... like our bodies eventually do. Beautiful candelabras will feature candles which are spent, melted and in the process of extinguishing... like our possessions, achievements and mortal lives will soon do. The paintings feature precious golden watches juxtaposed next dry skulls to remind us that in time we all meet the same fate. The skull is an aesthetic tool called a "momento mori", which is Latin for "remember you will die." Vanitas paintings preach our own fragile mortality to us in the midst of our possessions and youth. They whisper "from dust you came and to dust you shall return." They remind us that all of our possessions of pride are pure vanity... in the end they mean nothing. Vanitas asks us "What's the point of it all."
I hope that this especially Emo blog post hasn't been draining on you. With every entry I honestly do try to get at the heart of the text through my image selection and writing. I feel that Ecclesiastes can be a very somber search for purpose in the seemingly meaningless life of the author. It reveals the elephant in the room: the fact that even religious people get depressed. As I stated earlier there is at least one glimmer of hope in this book. It comes at the very end (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
It appears that the author does see hope in two things: fearing God and keep His commandments. By "fearing" God he means a combination of respect and reverence. Reverencing God and keeping His commandments can actually be combined into one charge. This charge is what Christ says was the greatest of the commandments. The greatest of the commandments because it captures the principal of all of the commandments: loving God and loving our neighbor (as ourselves). I'm not sure if Solomon understood it this way but Jesus surely did. The true hope that we have in life is love. Not the love of our accomplishments, possessions or sexual conquests (remember we're referencing Solomon) but love of our Creator and His creation. These creatures that He created include our family and friends but also strangers... and enemies. It is love that makes it all make sense. The love of God our father and all of His children. That is what I am remembering this September 11th. I am remembering to love.
Ecclesiastes is a sad book. King Solomon (King David's son) is attributed as the writer. I sometimes wonder if he needed medication when writing this book. Yes, I understand that may sound disrespectful to say that about a book of the Bible... but seriously, have you read it? I mean, have you read the whole thing (it's fairly short)? Try reading it all. All books of the Bible should be understood in their context and Ecclesiastes is definitely at the top of that list. It doesn't have a flicker of a bright side until the end. Solomon was very rich. As the son of a king he was born rich . The kingdom of Israel grew under his rule and he built the temple at Jerusalem, so he also knew success. Solomon was known to be very wise and was honored as such in his own lifetime. Then there was the women: he reportedly had 700 wives and 300 concubines. There wasn't much that Solomon doesn't possess. Yet at the twilight of his years he pens Ecclesiastes. He looks at his life and asks "What's the point of it all?"
Still Life painting is a polarizing genre of Art: either you like it or you don't see the point of it. If you like it then it is probably because it matches the new couch you bought (that needs something to hang above it). If you don't like it or see the point of it then you are probably why so many artists paint bowls of fruit on tables with clock, wine goblets, violins and a random skull in the middle (like dinner at Ozzie Osborne's house). That isn't always the table spread in all of these painting but it is in many. You have a few of those items in the painting "Vanitas" by Peter Claesz. Vanitas or Vanity is also the name of the sub genre of still life painting that it resides in. There have always been paintings that are purely about objects (even if they are painted for an art student's exercise) but Still Life painting as a major art genre really took off after the Northern Renaissance. It is mostly due to the Protestant Reformation. For much of Protestantism's history, there has been existed a current of iconoclasm (a religious resistance to using images). This is due to a certain interpretation to the second Commandment that doesn't consider that the ancient Israelites are commissioned by God after the ten commandments to create certain images (like those on the Ark of the covenant). The second commandment doesn't prohibit the creation of images but rather it prohibits the worship of them. So in reaction to the Catholic Church's abundance of images, many of the seceding Protestant movements shied away from even biblical imagery. Most of their ornamentation was focused on design and architecture. There is one exception to this (specifically in the Protestant countries of Northern Europe and that was illustration of the Proverbs (and Ecclesiastes was lumped in with them since it is a similar type of literature). The funny thing is that most protestant areas didn't put a full scale ban on imagery in paintings, but rather religious imagery (which could include Greek and Pagan imagery)... something that could be worshiped. You were free to have pictures of your grandparents, nature or still life. So still life became an ornate way to symbolically represent the Proverbs, Psalms, an occasional Gospel parable and passages from Ecclesiastes. Vanitas/Vanity paintings were all about Ecclesiastes. Like the Old Testament book the paintings discuss the seeming vanity of everything when one considers the fleeting nature of it all. Gorgeous displays of riches and feasts will reveal (on further inspection) that the ripe fruit is actually decaying... like our bodies eventually do. Beautiful candelabras will feature candles which are spent, melted and in the process of extinguishing... like our possessions, achievements and mortal lives will soon do. The paintings feature precious golden watches juxtaposed next dry skulls to remind us that in time we all meet the same fate. The skull is an aesthetic tool called a "momento mori", which is Latin for "remember you will die." Vanitas paintings preach our own fragile mortality to us in the midst of our possessions and youth. They whisper "from dust you came and to dust you shall return." They remind us that all of our possessions of pride are pure vanity... in the end they mean nothing. Vanitas asks us "What's the point of it all."
I hope that this especially Emo blog post hasn't been draining on you. With every entry I honestly do try to get at the heart of the text through my image selection and writing. I feel that Ecclesiastes can be a very somber search for purpose in the seemingly meaningless life of the author. It reveals the elephant in the room: the fact that even religious people get depressed. As I stated earlier there is at least one glimmer of hope in this book. It comes at the very end (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
It appears that the author does see hope in two things: fearing God and keep His commandments. By "fearing" God he means a combination of respect and reverence. Reverencing God and keeping His commandments can actually be combined into one charge. This charge is what Christ says was the greatest of the commandments. The greatest of the commandments because it captures the principal of all of the commandments: loving God and loving our neighbor (as ourselves). I'm not sure if Solomon understood it this way but Jesus surely did. The true hope that we have in life is love. Not the love of our accomplishments, possessions or sexual conquests (remember we're referencing Solomon) but love of our Creator and His creation. These creatures that He created include our family and friends but also strangers... and enemies. It is love that makes it all make sense. The love of God our father and all of His children. That is what I am remembering this September 11th. I am remembering to love.
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