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Christus Consolator by Carl Bloch 1881 oil on canvas
251 x 170 cms Sofia Albertina Kyrka Landskrona Sweden |
I learned to love stillness as a child. Maybe it was due to my introspective personality that needed and discovered the recharging and rejuvenating power of “alone time”. One of my favorite pastimes during the many days over a decade’s duration that I spent at my grandparents’ home was to sit alone in the rarely-used, parlor (an archaic name for the room for receiving guests which was appointed with the best furniture and, in our case, a piano). Even in the Winter, when the room’s door was kept shut to conserve heat, I would put on my coat and spend time in the parlor.
Sometimes I would read or draw or play with toys. But mostly I would rock back and forth in the upholstered stationary base rocking chair and gaze at the large, framed print of “Jesus, the Consolator” on the wall across from me. Jesus looked out from the painting with his arms raised in invitation for … what?… I guess an embrace. The eyes of all other people surrounding him in the picture were looking at their Savior. Except one. A little boy was the only other person looking out of the painting at the viewer. “He’s like me,” I would think.
Even now, although that old farm house with the parlor has long been razed, I travel back there in my mind for it’s delicious stillness.
More about the Artist and Painting Here.
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