Today, Day 610 of the daily poems, our poet Colin Pink writes: On his journey to the Netherlands Dürer frequently sold or gave away these two engravings as a pair. According to art historian Panofsky they contrast “a life in service to God with what may be called a life in competition with God – the peaceful bliss of divine wisdom to the tragic unrest of human creation”.
Vita Contemplativa
St Jerome in his Study, 1514
Unveiled. Like a blessing sunlight fills the room, illuminating
a clearing to the unconcealed. Gently, gently. Everything
listens to the scrape of Jerome’s nib on the smooth vellum.
Unhurried. He writes slowly, brim with bright tranquillity,
bent to his task, his sure-footed pen paces the parchment;
ink glints a moment then births the Word into the world.
Untroubled. The room of contemplation breathes easily.
Everything is in its place. Welcome to the space of harmony,
embrace of certainty, where every mystery troubles no more.
Colin Pink
from Colin Pink Typicity, published by Dempsey & Windle 2021
