For the past few weeks at our school, artists have been working on a mural in honor of the class of 2021. Our 16-foot mural was inspired by Claude Monet’s great work “Les Grands Decorations” more commonly known as “Water Lilies”.
Monet began these grand paintings in 1914 during the First World War. WWI was a notable period of creative void as artists struggled to respond to the horrors around them. However, artist Claude Monet painted through the brokenness as his world was turned upside down. The world around him had been devastated by war and loss and hate. The landscape seemed to have no horizon. All one could see was land that had been burned, water-soaked, darkened, and broken.
The land was a visual reflection of the loss so many people knew. Monet felt that loss. He had lost his wife, his son, and was now losing his eyesight and health. Rather than putting down his paintbrush, Monet took on the project of creating a 300 foot painting of beauty and hope. Monet chose to paint beauty in the broken. He painted the reflection of the heavens in the stillness of the water.
It is amazing how color and design can make even a world that seems upside down -- become inspiring. Art can highlight the glories of God and point us to the hope of the gospel.
Our prayer is that when you see this mural (which will soon be installed outside the English Hall), you will think not of the brokenness of our world but on the glories that are happening in our midst -- and that you will remember to look for them with a new perspective. Look for beauty and hope rising out of the broken. Out of winter, spring is coming. And together we celebrate the joy of our God who is making all things new.