Wandering Mind...

Random thoughts, experiences, observations, views, desires, ideas, humor, inspirations, emotions, insights...ahhh whatever! With a touch...of the WORD!!

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Praying Hands...


I stumbled on this picture from one of the forum I joined. This was posted by a new found friend Mr. Hawke. It is a picture painted by Albrecht Durer entitled, "Praying Hands". It has an interesting history with it and I have re-posted it here for others that have an interest and insight as well.

It is worth reading...........

Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children. Eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this mob, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood.

Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of Albrecht Durer the Elder's children had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew full well that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at the Academy.

After many long discussions at night in their crowded bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother while he attended the academy. Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy, either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring in the mines.

They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht Durer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg.

Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation. Albrecht's etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils were far better than those of most of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works.

When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrecht's triumphant homecoming. After a long and memorable meal, punctuated with music and laughter, Albrecht rose from his honored position at the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfill his ambition. His closing words were, "And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take care of you."

All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat, tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head from side to side while he sobbed and repeated, over and over, "No ...no ...no ...no."

Finally, Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He glanced down the long table at the faces he loved, and then, holding his hands close to his right cheek, he said softly, "No, brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg. It is too late for me. Look ... look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been smashed at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less make delicate lines on parchment or canvas with a pen or a brush. No, brother ... for me it is too late."

More than 450 years have passed. By now, Albrecht Durer's hundreds of masterful portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, watercolors, charcoals, woodcuts, and copper engravings hang in every great museum in the world, but the odds are great that you, like most people, are familiar with only one of Albrecht Durer's works. More than merely being familiar with it, you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home or office.

One day, to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother's abused hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward. He called his powerful drawing simply "Hands," but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed his tribute of love "The Praying Hands."

The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, take a second look. Let it be your reminder, if you still need one, that no one - no one - - ever makes it alone!

~Source Unknown~

Verse-Meal
Heb. 13:5
...I will never leave you nor forsake you.......

...these words was spoken by the Creator who doesn't and cannot lie....

14 Comments:

At 3:45 PM, August 16, 2005, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Flex J.! Sorry to place this here. You have no tagboard and I found your link at Ka Uro's site. I wanted to thank you for passing by my blog :)

 
At 12:55 AM, August 17, 2005, Blogger Ka Uro said...

Flex J,
thanks for sharing this story. it surely gives a deeper understanding of a simple picture.

 
At 7:59 AM, August 17, 2005, Blogger Flex J! said...

Patrice...
Thanks too for dropping by...:) More power!

God Bless...


Ka Uro,
Ganda nga kaya nai-share ko...

smiles...

 
At 8:51 AM, August 17, 2005, Anonymous Anonymous said...

'If you can e-mail, you can blog'
"If you can e-mail, you can blog," says Lockhart Steele, blogger of the real estate-centric Web site Curbed.com and managing editor of Gawker Media.
Hey, there what a great blog here! I'm definitely going to bookmark you!

I have a national diabetic site. It pretty much covers national diabetic related stuff.

Come and check it out if you get time :)

 
At 2:48 PM, August 17, 2005, Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks for tagging me. Hope that won't be your last visit. Join us in our discussions in my cyberclassroom; just share your thoughts with us. I like your blog entries, it shows that you are a very optimistic person too. Pareho tayo. I like to be surrounded by good thoughts, good people, good friends- irregardly of race, culture, religion...Basta nagpapakita ng mabuti friend ko. Friend na rin kita?

 
At 3:26 PM, August 17, 2005, Blogger Flex J! said...

Then...let's all be friends in your clasroom....thanks for dropping by...

 
At 7:38 AM, August 19, 2005, Blogger bing said...

hi there! ngayon ko lang nalaman ang istorya behind the Praying Hands. maganda, i agree. it tells us of the enduring love he has for his brother. it pays sometimes to learn to make sacrifices, dont you agree?

nice blog you have here..

 
At 9:00 AM, August 22, 2005, Anonymous Anonymous said...

want to send you some pictures too..gawaan mo ng blog ha!!!

ang gaganda noon, i did send a copy of it to jozel..

ingatz ka...

shine here!!!

 
At 9:24 AM, August 22, 2005, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Winer's OPML Roadshow rolls into Berkeley
My old friend Dave Winer is taking a new tact in evangelizing his latest invention-driving cross country on barnstorming tour.

My mother learned me hoe to enjoy rosegardening, so I made myself a planting roses site. Recently I started looking for planting roses related blogs, too! But they're hard to find... maybe someday I'll start writing one as well... :-) Sorry for bothering you - was just curious how it would look if I would post something somewhere... cool!

 
At 9:27 AM, August 22, 2005, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mark Cuban Blogs His NYT Email Interview
Interviewees and interviewers will increasingly blog the full text or even the audio of what once was a private discussion.
You have a really nice blog here! I'm definitely going to bookmark you!

I have a new jersey real estate site. It pretty much covers new jersey real estate related stuff.

Check it out if you get time :-)

 
At 8:17 AM, August 24, 2005, Anonymous Anonymous said...

gamda 'to ah bro. hermie

 
At 1:32 PM, August 24, 2005, Blogger Bluegreen said...

Hehehe napuno ng spam? Ah kaya ka pala paturo kay marhgil. Ano nga ba yon? program ba yon?

 
At 12:54 PM, August 25, 2005, Blogger Flex J! said...

Bing,
Yes I agree, it pays to learn doing sacrifices ......once in a while...

Thanks for dropping by..


Hermie,
ganda nga kaya naisipan kong i-post...


Blue...
tataungin ko pa si Marghil tungkol don...

 
At 12:55 PM, August 25, 2005, Blogger Flex J! said...

Shine,
Where's the pics..???

 

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