My Second Favorite Person Carl Bloch Ever Painted...

In church yesterday I noticed a painting that hangs prominently in the foyer. It's a reproduction of Carl Bloch's Christ Healing the Sick at Bethesda. It's from one of my favorite artists because he's a Dane, I love the subject matter, and I've seen the original.

I'm no art expert, nor have I studied art to the point where I can tell you why this is an example of a quality piece other than I like it and it makes me think about truly important things. I imagine all cultures and societies shun and hide the sick. In the paining we're shown by example to seek out and  sick and offer any comfort we can. There is one aspect of the painting that makes me think about these things every time I look at it.

It's the man sitting down on the steps next to the man who is sick.

There's a thousand thoughts expressed in his face.

Art should involve those who see it. It should evoke an emotional response, and this man's face does that for me every time I see it. 

What I see most, however, is a question.

And the question I see in the man's eyes is this, "What are you doing?"

For those who believe in the mission of Jesus Christ, we are given opportunities to serve others. We're to follow His example. In the painting Christ not only acknowledged the man hidden from the world, but gestures to him, sheds light on him, gives him hope--all while others have banished him from society.

What am I doing? Am I shunning others? Do I ignore those hidden who need help and can't help themselves? The man in the painting is calling to me. He's looking inside of me making me ask questions of myself. 

There's many people in Carl Bloch's paintings of Christ that make me stop and think. The old man with the beard looking up in The Sermon on the Mount, the woman in The Woman at the Well, Judas in The Last Supper, the crying man in The Burial of Christ. They all show an aspect of humanity, but it's the man sitting next to the banished that touches me the most. If you're not familiar with Carl Bloch's paintings, check out this website: HERE. There's some beautiful works of art there.

A Danish Easter

Being Easter, I thought a lot about Jesus Christ today. This made me think of Denmark. I had a missionary companion that said whenever he thinks of the Gospel, he thinks of it in the Danish language because when he was a kid and a teenager, church wasn't a priority. So when he learned the Gospel, it was in the Danish language.

I rummaged through more of my basement treasures and ran across a couple of slide (yes, slides...if you don't know what they are, ask your parents...) and I scanned them into my computer.

When I first got to Denmark, I had my first member dinner at Bjarne Jakobsen's house (we had so few meals with members--not their fault, believe me--that I actually remember most of them...). His kids were so little back then. He found me on Facebook recently and on his Facebook page he posted a picture of his family. His kids are no longer little. I remember his wife saying that she had seen the Christus statue in SLC, but not the one residing a few miles away in downtown Copenhagen. I thought that interesting. Here's the original:

Another original is this painting (sorry about the photo quality...) of Carl Bloch's Peter's Denial located at the Danish National Museum in Hillerød. It's up north, but the drive from Copenhagen to Hillerød is so beautiful (when the weather's good, so good luck with that...). I highly recommend it if you're in the area. You can see the end of one painting and the beginning of another--both Carl Bloch originals.

We decorated Easter eggs one Easter when I was there. This is Elder Todd Johnson (I wish I knew where he was--it would be fun to re-connect with him). I believe the Danish flag Easter egg was one of mine. I could be wrong, but I know for sure that the egg closest to him, the green one that looks like a car (a VW Bug, to be more precise...) is mine. I always make green VW Bug Easter eggs whenever I get the chance.

This last picture is that of our ward house in Fredricksberg. The building still remains, but it's no longer a ward house, but an LDS temple. I love that building I forever know as Priorvej. I took this picture during common Danish weather (see weather tip about driving up the Danish coast mentioned previously...).

Denmark is a wonderful place. And I doubt many think of Denmark and Christ very often together. But there are times when I do.