Manet's Pinks and Clematis in a Crystal Vase ~ and Seeking God's Face

 

This small painting, Pinks and Clematis in a Crystal Vase by Edouard Manet (1832-1883) is one of sixteen paintings the artist completed shortly before his death. The images can be found in a lovely book titled: The Last Flowers of Manet by Robert Gordon and Andrew Forge. The foreword begins:

The sixteen flower paintings reproduced together here for the first time were painted during the last months of Manet's life. He had been ill for several years and, in spite of heroic treatments, his condition was getting worse. Gradually he had come to accept the curbs of his illness. He had been working on a smaller scale. He had been working in pastel, a less demanding medium than oil. Witnesses tell us, he had only been able to to paint for limited periods, then he would rest on a couch to look at what he had done and chat with friends...So these flower paintings belong to a period of decline and, one must imagine, of occasional despair.  But even at his most bitter moments Manet's spirits would revive at the sight of flowers. "I would like to paint them all, " he would say.

This crystal vase with the gold decoration appears in a number of Manet's flower paintings. Notice how clean and bright the water and glass are. Were the few flowers tied together before being placed in water? The stems of the 'pinks' (also called dianthus) are plain to see, but not the purple clematis, because the clematis is a vine — a seemingly unstoppable vine that will attach itself to any tree, fence, post or neighbor plant.

The clematis then is symbolic of the searcher, the one who reaches and stretches to investigate or know. 

"If you find your delight in the Lord, he will grant you your heart's desire." Psalm 36:4

"Let there be rejoicing and gladness for all who seek you. Let him say forever, 'God is great,' who love your saving help." Psalm 69:5

"Consider the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face." Psalm 104:4

"You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your hearts." Jeremiah 29:13

"Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near."  Isaiah 55:6

It's strange that someone would claim to have no idea what it means to search for or seek after God. Our culture is rife with examples of searching: search engine, searching for a house, searching for a bargain, a  doctor, dentist, surgeon, investment, school, neighborhood, a certain "look." 

Searching for or seeking after God is really a poetic way of searching for God's presence in intimacy. That's not the same as finding the guru-priest everyone is talking about, getting retro-religion, reading religious how-to books. Intimacy is found in silence — hard to come by. Thomas Merton complained that his monastery (Gethsemane) was a noisy place, the tractors growling below in the fields. Merton would also be the first to tell us that even if the monastery was audibly silent, his mind could be terribly agitated and noisy. But, "The thing you pay attention to increases," AA teaches.

I would suggest perhaps one way to step into a God-seeking silence is by gazing. Looking. Not trying to have profound thoughts — or any thoughts for that matter — just looking. We do it when we see a new baby. We do it when there is a particularly colorful sunrise or sunset. We do it when we notice someone or something uniquely beautiful. I've met men who gaze longingly at cars!

This blog posts three times each week: Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday. Each post is introduced by a picture. I always have it mind that these pictures have the ability to grab our attention. People often comment on the picture and not on the accompanying text. That's fine. For me, the picture is as important as anything I hope to say (maybe even more so). We can try a little spiritual exercise and scroll around in the blog's archives. See if there's a picture that grabs your attention. Spend a minute with it. I'd suggest there is something of the divine in each of them.

But let's remember this too — God may be saying — I searched for and found YOU long before you had any thought of looking for me. In the Jesus parable of the lost and found sheep (Luke 15:3-6) — the sheep hasn't got a clue that the shepherd has gone out on a wild search for it. The only thing the sheep has on his/her mind is the eating of the next clump of grass, which may well be poisonous. 

It's a life-changer when I really get this.

Manet's Last Flowers as Forgiveness Gift

 

Beginning in the winter of 1880, at age 49,  due to declining health, Edouard Manet found it increasingly difficult to work on larger paintings. How creative, instead of packing up his brushes and calling it quits, he put his waning energies into sixteen small paintings of flowers in humble containers. 

The painting we see here (1882) is of a purple clematis with leaves and a single spray of pink dianthus (sometimes called pinks). They have been placed in a crystal vase, with a delicate painted decoration, filled with clean water.

A bouquet can be an extravagant affair, "Nothing succeeds like excess," the Dowager Countess says in Downton Abbey. But here, the arrangement of flowers is simple in the extreme. Indeed, Manet's arrangement of flowers is perfect simplicity, inviting us contemplate these few flowers in silence. 

Here's a little meditation we might practice. We meditate when we lock or fix our minds. But the locking needn't be on an overtly religious image. May we use our imagination? Some say, no, because our imaginations can go off unreliably. Before we know it we're fixed on superficiality, foolishness, resentment or even lust. I'd say rather, cultivate your best imagination.

Here! Imagine picking up the little vase of flowers, then mindfully walking off to make a gift to anyone I know who needs forgiveness. Forgiveness is central to Jesus's teaching. Forgiveness breaks the cycle of violence. His last words from the cross are, "Father forgive." John 20:23. Forgiveness means, "I wish you well." "I wish you all you need for salvation." I visualize handing off the gift of Manet's flowers with these words:

I hand off the flower-gift to someone who has hurt me — I wish you well.

I hand off the flower gift to someone who has failed me — even parents or teachers.

I hand off the flower gift to anyone who has abused me — spouse, clergy, sibling, employer.

I offer the flower-gift to someone whose conscience is unevolved — 

  who doesn't know right from wrong or who thinks, "What's the big deal."

   

I offer the flower-gift to anyone whose behavior

  makes me crazy or

  depresses me.

I offer the flower-gift to anyone I find repulsive —

  those of whom I think the most negative thoughts.

I offer the flower-gift to anyone who needs forgiveness who is deceased.

I offer the flower-gift to someone who caused me suffering —

  who frightened me, 

  lied to me,

  betrayed me, 

  tricked or exploited me,

  who harmed my good name,

  stole from me.

I offer the flower-gift to those who have caused me pain,

  but who carried their own deep wound.

I offer the flower-gift to anyone who has disappointed me —

  perhaps even my own children,

  a friend,

  a relative,

  a trouble maker, 

  an addict.

But don't force this visualization. It might not be time — perhaps in the future. Maybe the best I'm able to imagine is, "I would like to be able to offer this flower-gift and wish for wellness. Perhaps some day." 

Finally, I may want to keep the flowers for myself — a token of forgiveness for my own wrong-headed self, especially the mistakes from long ago that still trouble me.