Sparky's Office

In my office, where I spend much soothing time, there are pictures which literally cover almost every inch of space. For some unfathomable reason, the majority of these pictures are of old men with beards. When I look at them, I’m aware of feeling enormous peace and comfort. I would like to share some of these paintings with you and tell you what they seem to represent to me.

1. El Greco’s portrait of St. Jerome
To me the painting represents everyone’s stern old grandfather. St. Jerome is shown pointing to a text in the bible since he is given credit for translating the ancient Greek Bible into what is called the Vulgate. This meant that the Bible could be read by the common people.

When I first saw the painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art I went up to the guard to ask him to what text of the bible was St. Jerome pointing. I was guided into the office of the head curator of the Museum and when I asked him that question, he sighed and said, “You’re not the first to have asked me that question. We have looked at the text under highest magnification and cannot see anything definitive. So we have concluded that St. Jerome was making a generic statement. Thank you for your question.”

2. Ludwig Cranach the Elder’s picture of Martin Luther
This was taken when Luther was 21 and had just been ordained as a priest. He soon broke with the Catholic Church and was threatened with excommunication and even being burned at the stake. He replied when asked to recant, “Ich kann nicht anders” translated, “I cannot do otherwise.” To me, he represents the quintessential oppositional learner.

3. Walt Whitman painted by Winslow Homer
Whitman was permanently scarred by his activity during the Civil War where he was a stretcher bearer on the battlefield. It is obvious to me that he suffered from PTSD as a result.

4. This self portrait by Rembrandt was painted at the end of his life. His life was filled with tragedy but yet his humanity shines through from an inner light. This represents, to me, the Russian soul.

5. My painting of Sigmund Freud (not the same as the one shown), signifies serenity, courage, and humanity. It has hung on my walls for more than 30 years.

6. This painting of Carl Jung is a new one and shows him, once again, at the end of his life but concentrating fiercely at the task in front of him. It is clear that Jung had made up his mind not to rust out but to burn out.

I hope the viewer of this post can share some of my love for these paintings. I look at them every single day.