Mourning their Loss by Carl Wilhelm Hubner, is a heart wrenching, poignant painting of an elderly couple sitting by the grave site of, perhaps, their child. The wife leans on the husband who somehow manages to support her through his own grief. He leans on a cane, with his Bible nearby. In the lower right corner, Queen Anne's lace blooms next to an old stone cross, reminding us that this scene has been repeated day after day, all around the world since the beginning of time. Juxtaposed with the timeless picture of the old grave marker is the light that comes from the upper left part of the painting, sending hope that reflects off the water--both a symbol of rebirth.
Perhaps it is God waiting for the day, sometime in the near future, when the old couple will join their child in the next life.
5 comments:
Thanks for that...
I have two teen boys now. I have made a point that in my prayer that I express gratitude for God's mercy in allowing me to have had them for as long as I have... Despite some very difficult times with the older one, I would not change him or be without him for anything in the world. I am very aware of God's divine mercy.
My wife had a miscarriage in who would have been our first child. I often do think about who that child would have been.
Ok, so the first few times I looked at this my focus was on the oval plot of land. When I finally found the cross you were referring to, I realized it was over to the right. So now I'm thinking, is the cross one of their parents and the oval is where their child is buried? Or is it just the angle of the picture. I could look at this picture a long time. See the wreath of greenery on the oval plot? There is a marker of some sort near it. And the woman (mother?) is holding a wreath of something too. Hmmm.... lots to ponder here. And I haven't even touched on the water and light yet.
I think All Soul's day is so necessary, and something that has been forgotten by the larger society. It is a time to remember and pray for our dead.
I didn't even notice the garland that the mom is holding in the pic! I agree that the cross on the right might be the older couple's parents.
Maybe the wreathes symbolize the circle of life.
A beautiful painting.
St. Ambrose presented a picture of death as gift or remedy. In the Office of Readings for All Souls' Day, Ambrose wrote that "God did not decree death from the beginning; he prescribed it as a remedy. Human life was condemned because of sin to unremitting labor and unbearable sorrow and so began to experience the burden of wretchedness.There had to be a limit to its evils; death had to restore what life had forfeited. Without the assistance of grace, immortality is more of a burden than a blessing." I never looked at death in this way.
Looking at these mourners, I can feel the burden of wretchedness.
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