 |
| Still Life with Basket of Oranges (1633) Francisco de Zurburan |
Every once in a while I will read of an obscure language that is only spoken by a handful of (elderly) people. The concern is that the language will die when there are no more native speakers and this would be a great cultural loss.
When something is no longer taught or passed on to the next generation it effectively dies and yes the loss to our culture can be significant. We know from scripture that it only takes one poorly catechised generation for an entire people to lose their faith.
Symbolism in art is not quite dead but it is not doing well. I am not speaking of an artist’s personal symbolic vocabulary but rather a common language of symbols that is understood by a even a casual viewer. To retain that understanding requires a type of education that is, for the most part, no longer taught. And the loss is great. When we lose the sense of the symbolic we look at the painting above and see only a baroque still life. But an understanding of the symbolic allows us to see beyond the surface imagery to the Truth that is being conveyed. Then we may come to see the painting as a tribute to the Mother of God.
How is a still life painting a deeply religious work? Karen Andrews explains in a wonderful article over at aleteia.org.
“Like the iconographic tradition, his (Zurburan’s) work aims to inspire prayer and quiet contemplation.”
All of our gifts are to be used to build the Kingdom of God, even if it does not at first seem to be the case.