An enticing glow radiates from the interior of this weathered thatched cottage, its warm colour picked up again in the orange-streaked sky at dusk. Our eye is drawn to the homely figure of a woman entering one of the two doorways, inviting us to imagine the cosy scene inside.

Reading the painting through the lens of Psalm 133, one can see something of the beauty and simplicity of community life that so captivated Vincent van Gogh. It is one in a series of studies of farm cottages in Hoogeveen in the Netherlands, which Van Gogh visited in 1885. Writing to his brother Theo, Van Gogh described the cottages as ‘four little human nests’—a description which suggests he thought of them as symbols of comfort, shelter, and unity (Van Gogh 1885, #418). The cottage represented here houses two families, as suggested by the two front doors and the shared split chimney. Van Gogh likened it to an elderly couple, ‘worn with age, who have grown into one being and are seen leaning on each other’ (Van Gogh 1885, #410).

The three short verses of Psalm 133 provide a meditation on the goodness and blessing of kindred living together in unity. It is possible that the wisdom saying in verse 1 originally emerged in the family home, although its context in the psalm allows the interpretation of ‘kindred’ to include all those in the family of faith. The psalm forms part of a collection called the ‘Songs of Ascents’, originally sung by pilgrims journeying to the temple in Jerusalem. Images of family life are woven throughout these psalms (e.g. 122:8; 127:3–5; 128:3, 6; 131:2), fostering in the pilgrims’ imaginations a picture of corporate identity. The cottage in Van Gogh’s painting captures this sense of blessing, and—even amidst poor and harsh living conditions—of the goodness and peacefulness one can find in community.

References

Van Gogh, Vincent. 1885. ‘Letter to Theo van Gogh, c.1 June 1885’, trans. by Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, ed. by Robert Harrison, #410, http://webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/15/410.htm [accessed 6 October 2020]

———. 1885. ‘Letter to Theo van Gogh, July 1885’, trans. by Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, ed. by Robert Harrison, #418, http://webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/15/418.htm [accessed 6 October 2020]

No eye contact exists between these six emaciated figures, shoulders hunched, draped in sackcloth. They stand together, united by their fate, yet alone in their individual agony, each one facing in a different direction. Having volunteered to sacrifice their own lives for the sake of their city, Calais, Auguste Rodin has captured the men here at the point when they give themselves up. They carry the keys to the city, as instructed by their victors, and have nooses around their necks.

The sculpture provides a particularly poignant counterpoint to Psalm 133. Rather than a joyful throng singing psalms as they make pilgrimage to the dwelling-place of the Lord, the members of this group stand together to face death for the sake of their brothers and sisters in the city, which they serve. Both groups journey in hope of divine blessing: one in worship, the other in death.

Rodin’s sculpture was commissioned in 1885 by the council of Calais to commemorate the city’s heroes from the Hundred Years War between England and France. According to the fourteenth-century historian Jean Froissart, King Edward III of England struck a bargain with the people of Calais after besieging them for eleven months: six members of the city council would surrender their lives in exchange for the city’s freedom (Benedek 2000: 11). Rather than a sculpture of their leader, Eustache de Saint-Pierre, Rodin crafted a group composition to express the solidarity of their shared sacrifice.

The first verse of Psalm 133 is often translated ‘How good and pleasant it is when kindred dwell together in unity’. In the original Hebrew, the word ‘even’ (gam) emphasizes that it is not just living together that brings divine blessings but doing it ‘even as a unity’.

In Rodin’s sculpture, no single figure is elevated or given more prominence than another. Without a pedestal, those passing by would have been challenged to contemplate the reality of self-sacrifice as an act of solidarity with one’s community. The six men were willing to stand together ‘even as a unity’ on behalf of their civic family in the hope of God’s blessings on them all.

References

Benedek, Nelly Silagy. 2000. Auguste Rodin: The Burghers of Calais: A Resource for Teachers (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art)

At the foot of Ludwig Mittermaier’s imposing stained-glass portrait of the Lutheran reformer and clergyman Johannes Brenz there is an intriguing panel. It depicts a hen with its egg, surrounded, enigmatically, by an inscription of the first verse of Psalm 133 in an arc: Siehe, wie fein und lieblich ist es, daß Brüder einträchtig beieinander wohnen (‘See, how fine and delightful it is when brothers dwell peaceably together’).

Tradition has it that Brenz survived for fourteen days in an attic, hiding from the Spanish troops in Stuttgart, visited by a hen who laid an egg each day (Langsam 2019: 130). The chicken and its egg thus serve as a witness of divine provision for Brenz when he was in need, just as the prophet Elijah received provisions from ravens in the desert (1 Kings 17:1–6).

The inscription of Psalm 133:1, however, strikes a tragic note in the context of the Reformation. A testimony to the blessings that proceed from unity between believers, the psalm stands as a witness to Brenz’s advocacy for church unity at a time marked by division and violence (Whitford 2012: 377–8). In the portrait (not shown here), Brenz is depicted proudly armed with his creed, the Württemberg Confession, which he had prepared for the Council of Trent in 1552. Reading Psalm 133 through this window turns the psalm into a challenge and an ongoing plea for unity and peace in the Church.

The seven Reformation windows were created in the 1860s when the church of Ravensburg was renovated, and played a central part in shaping the identity of this evangelical community in a predominantly Catholic town (Langsam 2019: 130). In this context, the opening verse from Psalm 133 could be understood as a celebration of the fellowship of this particular community. As they gathered together to worship God, they were seeking the same blessings of God’s presence as were the ancient pilgrims to the Temple in Jerusalem who sang this psalm.

References

Langsam, Friedrich. 2019. ‘Das theologische Programm der Ravensburger Reformatorenfenster’, in Die Reformatorenfenster der Evangelischen Stadtkirche Ravensburg: Bericht zur Erforschung der Glasmalerei von Ludwig Mittermaier, ed. by Dunja Kielmann, Susann Seyfert, and Otto Wölbert, Arbeitsheft 37 (Esslingen am Neckar: Jan Thorbecke Verlag)

Whitford, David M. (ed.). 2012. T & T Clark Companion to Reformation Theology (London: T & T Clark), pp. 377–78