2min chapter

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EP # 126 | Freestyle Episode

Just Thinking Podcast

CHAPTER

Introduction

The hosts kick off the new year with a freestyle episode, warmly welcoming listeners and seeking their thoughts on the year 2024.

00:00
Speaker 3
R ter, making a series, it's always this quest for some kind of unattainable perfection that's up to you. Im gong to throw it out to you in about two minutes. But i just wanted to bring religion, bring it all down, bring religion, or bring it up into the debate again, because you both site religion very strongly. And i know simon, that one of your things about rembrandt is bearing witness. You know, he's the quint essential protestant painter for mes interesting, isn't? Ecause you say he's a devout catholic, but he becomes a catholic. I think he's born a protestant, he becomes a catholicin or to marry. Hs, wi, so let's just have me, you know, we know that the reubens rembrandt debate is always won in this country by rembrant. Because, fundamentally, were not a catholic country, or a count a reformatary countryju, some observations about religion in in this debate. Now, it pansa his ramant always
Speaker 1
at an advantage in britain because he's a protestant. Ye, probay. I mean, not sure rembrant is? Well, find out to night. But i'm no sure, not sure rembrant is an advantage over fome in britain at all. I think vemea plays exquisitely to the kind of mania for understatement which er er, which is, you know, our national condition, which always makes me astounded that i've had any kind of career at alli. Will say, i will say aboutayorose rightto weve wonderfully can have impersonated the temper of our heroes. What do one say about rembrandt? I showed that not very well known, beautiful cross in a french church. Is that what rembrandt took very seriously. Not not as an orthodox calvinist, which he really wasn't. His mother actually was a catholic er. But he joins a group called the collegians, who are kind of, sort of like dutch quakers, not exactly. And the collegians all know hebrew and, no, quite close to jews, andother nother reason. You know, it's very hard to imagine f he mere hanging out with jews, i have to say, white you, no am. But a rembrand is very interested in religion embodied inside us, walking the streets with us. When you go to the national gallery, and we aren't going to check up on you to make sure that you o. You will see t a famous saint bartholomew and agetty, which everybody can't believe thatad. He looks like agon a middle level bank manager. Does you know he's got short hair and a moustache. Asin the nineteenth century. That's tough on saint bartholomew ono. And the reason is that for rembrandt, of course, you know, who lives in a jewish neighbourhood, but who hangs out with all sorts of nobbly faced people in amsterdam. We all carry the possibility of biblical transfiguration around with us. And that is, or extraordinarily moving, the very last painting he did, almost. There are two that vi fritni was going to show, the prodigal son in the hermitage. That is an incredible painting, where i was going to the other contender. Soer very quickly, is in the show again, national gallerys of simeon. But the christ child. And it is this old blind man whom reverence can ave made blind. Reman's own father was blind. And the light is coming out from baby jesus e in a category plosion, a cot of spray. He is almost somaltedous. O got o spray, very, very powdery and granular paint. It is the most extraordinarily moving thing. And these are commonplace faces. The baby is a fat, chubby street baby from amsterdam. And the other, the other contender, is the prodigal simon. You don't one time wer again, he's not doing face actuly. Traceyw in 16 69, last year, the father, again, prodigal son, is made to be blind. You onat this he is leaning on his son, and you do not see the face of the prodigal son, in this case, completely, except trace. Is point is can a rarity to actually do the strategy of the hidden. In this case, itis hidden. The prodigal son kneels before his father. His head is shorn very badly. His clothes are falling off him, and what you see at the centre of the painting are aturned, shredded, lacerated soles of his feet. That was rembrandt's religion. Vermire
Speaker 2
was born protestant.

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