A couple of days ago I read a short story on the social media. The story was inspired by the beautiful quote from Camille Pissarro, a French Impressionist painter:
"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing."
The story goes like this:
One day a man asked a sage: “Why does God allow some people to be happy but not others?”
"God is not responsible for human’s misery," said the sage “Everyone is responsible for their own happiness and feelings. Whoever wants to be happy will be.”
"There's no logic in your words. There is hardly a person who does not want to be happy. And yet, I meet more unhappy people than joyful people around.
"Look at this painting!" said the sage. "What do you see?"
The man looked at the painting and said: “I see winter, blizzard and all is covered with snow, even chills beat me.”
"Well, I see a little house and light coming from it," said the sage. "I see smoke coming out of the chimney and I can feel the warmth and cosiness that reigns inside. I can even smell the aroma of freshly baked homemade cakes.”
"But nothing like that is depicted on the picture," the man laughed, "as if you are describing another painting. Yes, there is a house that is lit, but the rest...”.
"On the contrary," said the sage, "We are talking about the same painting. It represents life through my eyes and your point of view. You could see only the cold of winter but I can see and feel the warmth of the hearts in this house. I can see the beauty because I want to see it and everyone who can see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing is truly blessed .”
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Camille Pissarro, in full Jacob-Abraham-Camille Pissarro (July 10, 1830 – November 13, 1903) was a French Impressionist painter and a key figure in the history of Impressionism.
Pissarro was the only artist to show his work in all eight Impressionist group exhibitions; throughout his career he remained dedicated to the idea of such alternative forums of exhibition.
Camille Pissarro was born in St Thomas (then a Danish possession) in the West Indies but lived and worked mainly in the Paris area. He visited London in 1870-71. He was influenced by Millet and Corot.
Known as the "Father of Impressionism", Pissarro painted rural and urban French life, particularly landscapes in and around Pontoise, as well as scenes from Montmartre. His mature work displays an empathy for peasants and laborers, and sometimes evidences his radical political leanings. He was a mentor to Paul Cezanne and Paul Gauguin and his example inspired many younger artists, including Californian Impressionist Lucy Bacon.
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