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Those Who Love You
are not fooled by mistakes you have made
or dark images you hold about Yourself.
They remember Your Beauty when you feel ugly;
Your Wholeness when you are broken;
Your Innocence when you feel guilty;
and Your Purpose when you are confused!
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John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English Romantic poet. He was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, despite his works having been in publication for only four years before his death from tuberculosis at the age of 25. 🙁
Image: Cameron Gray
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“SOME DAY YOU MAY BE AS OLD AS I AM. PLEASE TAKE MY ADVICE, AND DON’T WASTE YOUR SHORT LIFE. INVEST YOUR YOUTHFUL VITALITY IN YOUR ART. SHARE THE BEST OF YOUR SPIRIT WITH THE WORLD. YOUR BODY WILL DIE, BUT YOU CANNOT DIE. SO, DON’T WORRY ABOUT PETTY THINGS LIKE BODIES, MONEY AND POSSESSIONS. THEY PASS WITH THE BODY AND ARE MEANINGLESS. DON’T WORRY WHAT ANYONE THINKS OF YOU. DON’T SEEK APPROVAL, EXCEPT FROM YOURSELF.
YOUR ART AND IDEAS ARE SIGNS OF YOUR SPIRIT.
YOUR BEAUTY ENDURES FOREVER, AS DO YOU.”
— Lawrence R. Spencer. 2012
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I am very sure that my new book, Vermeer: Portraits of A Lifetime, will be considered by many people to be delusional or heretical. Many will dismiss my observations and comments because they don’t follow the dictates of “authoritative research” or the opinions of art “experts”.
This book may threaten persons who have a financial vested interest in the Vermeer paintings that still exist today, as their livelihood or financial well-being depend to some degree on the value currently assigned to the paintings.
Although the monetary value of Vermeer’s paintings have been vastly inflated, in part, due to the mystique created by authorities or speculators, it is not my intention to devaluate them. It is not my intention to invalidate property that was sold or bartered by Vermeer and his wife, Catharina, hundreds of years ago. Quite the contrary.
My intention is to honor the lives of Johannes, Catharina, their eleven surviving children and Maria Thins, his mother-in-law and patroness.
This book does not represent or endorse any financial, spiritual, religious, political organization or practice or philosophy of any kind. All personal observations and opinions offered by the author herein are purely and solely personal opinions, with no other source than those noted in the footnotes or appendix.
Any and all individuals or organizations from whom research and/or opinions have been borrowed or sited for referential purposes in this book are not affiliated with and do not in any way acknowledge the validity of or endorse the findings or assertions of the author or publisher of this book.
Finally, this book is not intended for people who have a vested interest, or who “know best”. Personal observations, whether visual, empathetic or conjectural, of the author about the life and death of Vermeer, 300 years after the fact, are wholly subjective.
