carl bloch.

yesterday i took some time and went to the carl bloch exhibit, "the master's hand", at the byu museum of art. i had heard such wonderful things about it from my german teacher and this girl. and let me tell you, it definitely lived up to my expectations. i'm an art history major, so naturally, i love this kind of stuff. but i think carl bloch's work is something that everyone could come to love and find meaning in. 

carl bloch was a nineteenth century danish painter and is known for his beautiful depictions of events from the life of the savior. over his lifetime he was commissioned to do several hundred paintings for various chapels and altar pieces. there's something so powerful about the way he depicts these scenes - even though some of them are heart wrenching, there is a feeling of comfort and hope.

bloch also painted the overlooked, the lonely and the oppressed. i loved the way sigmund müller put it, "to him nothing was foreign because nothing was unimportant to him ... he grasps all of it in sympathetic understanding."

needless to say, bloch's artwork is inspiring. if you live near the area, or are in town (before may 7th, 2011) i highly recommend that you go see it. 

while i absolutely loved the paintings, i think my favorite part might have been the words from bloch at the start of the exhibit:

"god helps me - that's what i think, and then i am calm."

so beautifully and simply put. :)