Art to Heart Offertory

Jan van Huysum: Still Life with Flowers

©2002 by Jeff Dugan

In the 16^th century, Dutch and Flemish painters elevated still life paintings from what had once been a lowly status into the realm of masterpiece.  Focusing on incredible realism and detail, and sometimes using paintbrushes made with just a single hair, they created wondrous images, among the most wondrous of which were floral portraits like this one. 

But Jan van Huysum (pronounced “yahn van hai-sum”), studying the achievements of the still life painters before him, became the greatest of them all.  His mastery of detail was equal to the best, but no other painter had van Huysum’s ability to capture such a lush, exuberant celebration in the profusion of blossoms and foliage.  No one was as eloquent as van Huysum in expressing the great, riotous joy of life’s abundant richness.

No matter how generously the thesaurus is poured out here, no words can express van Huysum’s euphoria as well as a good look at his art. 

These Dutch and Flemish floral still lifes had for a long time incorporated a moral message.  Prior to van Huysum, it was common for such a painting to contain numerous leaves chewed by insects, fruits beginning to rot, or the occasional blossom beginning to wilt.  The implied message was a reminder of the transience of life; that as beautiful as it could be, it would soon be over. 

In this painting, though, we see no imperfect blossoms or leaves.  What we do see, at the top of the painting, are three butterflies.  

The butterfly, as a symbol of transformation and new life, naturally also speaks about the transience of life, though not in terms of doom, but in terms of good news.  The butterfly reminds us of our hope that our short lives will not end in decay, but in resurrection to even greater glory.  Safe in this knowledge, we are now free.  No longer bound by fear of the future and grasping frantically for the good times while they last, we can rest securely in the moment.  We can celebrate with van Huysum the great treasure of the fully abundant life of faith.

We tarry here only a short time, but our future is secure, and with that future secured, how glorious it can be while we’re here!

In this masterpiece of visual praise, Jan van Huysum echoes the words of Jesus, when he said, “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”  As we return to God a portion of what he has entrusted to us, may our decisions and our very lives paint a similar portrait of faith.

(At this point the worship leader may collect an offering as appropriate to the specific service and congregation.)