Book Review: Rembrandt is in the Wind
The subtitle of this book is “Learning to Love Art Through the Eyes of Faith,” and that drew me in. Well, that and the recommendation from half a dozen people.
I’m no art connoisseur. I like beautiful paintings and learning about famous artists, but I don’t have a solid understanding of what makes art beautiful or why I’m drawn to some paintings more than others. My friend Kristen has that, and I am in awe of it. I watched her teach art to our children and learned to love to see the world through her eyes.
Russ Ramsey, in Rembrandt is in the Wind, promises to help people like me. And he delivers.
I expected explanations, examples, stories. I got all that. What I didn’t expect was that the author would somehow tie all of that to my faith.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. Ramsey opens chapter one with a lyric by Rich Mullins. That should have been clue #1. Then he quoted Henry Nouwen, clue #2. Still, I just kept reading about beauty, goodness, and community with my guard down, underlining and enjoying myself. Then, I turned to chapter two, a study of Michelangelo’s statue of David, where I learned about the tensile strength of marble and marveled over how that slab was moved miles without damage, when all of a sudden, I’m thinking about shepherds and working/creating within community, and my mind is blown. This is a new angle on the thoughts of community I’ve been mulling about and writing about all summer.
“Living with limits is one of the ways we enter into beauty we would not have otherwise seen, good work we would not have chosen, and relationships we would not have treasured. For the Christian, accepting our limits is one of the ways we are shaped to fit together as living stones into the body of Christ. As much as our strengths are a gift to the church, so are our limitations.” (p.36)
And it only got better.
What worked
Ramsey’s knowledge of art is approachable. I felt like I was learning from a friend, not listening to a docent at a museum. Better yet, Ramsey’s pastoral heart bleeds through every page. He is a shepherd, leading his flock in a study of beauty unlike your run-of-the-mill pastor. (Are there any run-of-the-mill pastors? I don’t think so.)
Who it is for
Anyone interested in art or desiring to be interested in art will appreciate this book. Historians and biographers would also appreciate it as Ramsey focuses on a different artist in each chapter.
CAUTIONS
There are reprints of famous pieces which, of course, can sometimes include nudity.
STAR RATING
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 Stars - The storytelling is magnificent. The material is interesting. The theology is spot on. I really liked the way it made me think theologically about things I hadn’t considered theologically before.
Bonus
This podcast episode with the author includes a chapter that was deleted. Interesting.
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I’m no art connoisseur. I like beautiful paintings and learning about famous artists, but I don’t have a solid understanding of what makes art beautiful or why I’m drawn to some paintings more than others. Russ Ramsey, in Rembrandt is in the Wind, promises to help people like me. And he delivers.