So, today getting the privilege of reviewing a book by an old mentor which just arrived in the mail (old school cool!)! What a privilege!

Dr Cliff Edwards and I worked together years ago on several projects. His first book “Vincent and God” was groundbreaking in terms of understanding the artist’s spiritual quest, both for Vincent and for artist in general. His new book, goes even deeper into tracing that inner pilgrimage which gets expressed through the outer art forms.

This new book “Van Gogh’s Ghost Paintings”, explores Vincent Van Gogh’s spirituality revealed through his art and letters to his brother Theo, but also through the art which he intentionally discarded or destroyed, specifically one on Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Great read so far, specifically looking at the paintings which the artist intentionally destroyed—one brilliant and revealing one is a meditation of Jesus in Gethsemane!

The chapter on Vincent’s depiction of Jesus in the garden of gethsemane, the night before He heads towards the Cross, alone is worth the read (how artist dialogue, commune with, and be transformed by a higher suffering, reveals their character)—what colors and textures the artist chose to interpret the story through, make you realize he was dialoguing from his personal life with the story through art; or as it says on the back of the book: “Vincent was painting as parable. In many of his more inner works, you overhear the artist considering Jesus’ suffering, alongside his own, as if they are together in that garden of suffering, anxiety and depression.”

And, this penultimate, often overlooked, scene just before, and leaning towards, the Passion, is, as Cliff points out, so seldomly depicted in art history; that moment when he tells His friends to wait and watch, and none do, and He breaks into depression and anxiety, probably over his coming sense of separation from the Father, was a scene few artist or people were willing to sit with! It’s a great scene in the grand story, but few have attempted to picture it, much less interpret it-even in the church. Van Gogh did, and wrote about it!

Plus, one of my favorite 20th C priest, Henri Nouwen wrote Dr Edward’s last book’s intro, and has a great blurb on this one, which he wrote before he passed!

Thankful to have received this book for review from my old friend and mentor Cliff Edwards, who has been working on solving the koan of Van Gogh’s spirituality for nearly 50 years! And in doing so revealing a basic spirituality of all artist!

And the book articulately explores the inner pilgrimage which was really going through and in his paintings and letters! A great map of the inner identity of the artist, and artists in general!

Where art and religion intersect is my favorite place to dwell, my part of heaven. So, very excited to review this book for and by my dear friend and mentor Dr Cliff Edwards. I savor the earned and long explorations of my elders this season, and honored to get to review and enter into what they’ve gleaned thus far! Thankful today to receive this humble and beautiful book!

I consider the dutch to have a prophetic teacherly gift, so nice when someone considers in depth one of their artist as a spiritual cartographer or mapper! Similarly with Jeremiah and St Paul, their life stories become part of their message! Cliff catches this trail throughout this clear and heart insightful book!