My wife and I recently had the immense privilege of attending a wedding in Sorrento, Italy. The whole time I sat there thinking, “Is this real? I feel like I’m in a movie.” At the end of the trip, we had a few days to explore the neighboring city of Naples.
Our way of vacationing is to explore a new city on foot, often searching for the best coffee (her influence) and artisan pastries (my passion!). After our morning (and sometimes afternoon) treats, we go to gardens and museums because they're good about telling the story of a place.
On one of our walks in Naples, we saw a sign advertising a Caravaggio painting on display at a nearby museum. Through that, we learned there were more of his paintings on display at various places around the city. Hang on to your pain au chocolat baby, the hunt was on! We were on the trail to see and experience all of these masterworks.
I like art. But I’m in no way a connoisseur. Often when I look at a famous painting, I’m confused why it’s a big deal, apart from the name on the placard. But I’ve learned enough to know how to find a piece that stands out to me and sit gazing at it for an extended period of time, minimum of 15 minutes. Getting close to it. Observing it from afar. Checking it from different angles. Reading the placard to get the context. Slowly letting the details reveal themselves.
I’ve heard a lecture on Caravaggio. And he was one of the artists featured in Russ Ramsey’s outstanding book; Rembrandt is in the Wind. Apart from these, I don’t really know much about him or the context in which he worked. The culture and time period are foreign to me. Before this trip, I had seen pictures of his art. I could tell he produced great work. But I’ve seen so many pictures of masterworks that his didn’t particularly stand out.
It wasn’t until I experienced his work in person in the original context that my eyes were opened.
You see, when we entered the Pio Monte della Misericordia (“Pious Mount of Mercy”), and saw the “Seven Works of Mercy” hanging next to six other masterworks from other artists painted in the same time period, I saw in an instant all I needed to understand why Caravaggio is such a big deal.
Caravaggio’s work was different than that of his peers. It was captivating. I wanted to linger and gaze and understand. All of the paintings in this church were beautiful, but Caravaggio’s had a level of depth I had never experienced in person before. And the contrast with his contemporaries highlighted his skill.
He created this massive painting for this specific church, and it blew my mind that it had been hanging on that very wall for 419 years, attracting tens of thousands of people every year. Including me, Grady Frazier from Columbia, Missouri—5000 miles from home.
I travel all over the world to linger in gardens, art museums, architecture, and sweeping natural vistas (while enjoying pastries and fine coffee) because I’m searching for something. I want an experience that transcends what I know. I want to take in something glorious. I want to stand in the presence of a masterwork.
I am chasing beauty.
And I’m chasing beauty because I want to be beautiful. Not an outward beauty in the way our culture often speaks of it. The kind that can’t be bought. The kind that has depth. The kind that is lasting. Beauty that radiates.
But this chasing will only ever be chasing if I forget that God is the source and master of all beauty. My deepest longing is to be united in relationship with my creator. To be satisfied and sustained in his presence. To glorify him and enjoy him forever. And because I am united with the Father in Christ through the Spirit, I share in his beauty and am made beautiful in time.
All the physical masterworks I’m chasing are pictures (or should I say echos) of the beauty God has put in creation. Experiencing the fullness of beauty requires going to the source. Firsthand knowledge.
So how do we chase beauty and experience the source of radiance in this way?
By seeking God. Gazing at him. Contemplating his beauty. Imagining his glory. Looking to him to be ultimate in our lives. And as we do this, we are made radiant (Psalm 34:4-5).
This transformation probably won't happen in one sitting. We wait in hope for God to make all things new. And bit by bit, over time, we trust that God is creating a holistic beauty in us that will ring into eternity and forever point to God as the fount of all glory. This is the beauty we are ultimately searching for.
Want to encounter this beauty today? There’s no need to hop on a flight to Italy first.
Here are a few of God’s masterworks to sit in front of. To gaze at for an extended period of time. To examine closely. To observe from afar. To check from different angles. To slowly let the details reveal themselves and be prayed into your very being.
May you be united with the source of all beauty.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Genesis 2:9 (NIV)
“The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.”
Psalm 90:17 (NKJV)
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.
Psalm 27:4 (NIV)
One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
Psalm 96:5-6 (Msg)
God made the heavens—
Royal splendor radiates from him,
A powerful beauty sets him apart.
Psalm 96:9 (NKJV)
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
Tremble before Him, all the earth.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Revelation 21:23 (NIV)
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
Psalm 34:1-5 (NIV)
I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
Take the next step and explore how to partner with God in creating beauty. In this blog, Anna Lynne recommends 7 books that will help you engage thoughtfully with art and culture.
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