The Three Wise Men Under A Van Gogh-like Sky

I am a big fan of paintings by Vincent van Gogh.

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and years ago when Ken and I were visiting Holland, we also went to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. We spent nearly a full day there, enjoying one amazing painting after the next. There’s something about his brushstrokes, the way he lays oil paints on the canvas, that’s always intrigued me. Plus, I love van Gogh’s use of color – so warm and sunny; lots of pastels. So, when we returned home, I purchased a big art book of his most famous paintings.

I kept it in my art studio and whenever I pulled up to the easel, I would ask my friend to take down that big, heavy book from the shelf, pull up a chair next to me, and sit with a magnifying glass in our hand. With each turn of the page, I used the magnifier to closely examine his composition, his color, and most of all, the style of this amazing Dutch painter.

Of course, like most people, I was drawn to his painting The Starry Night.

It was rendered in 1889 and it depicts the view of a swirling, colorful night sky from the east-facing window of his room at the asylum. That’s right, Vincent van Gogh had a mental breakdown, and, for a time, he admitted himself to a mental institution.

Now, about this oil painting. Van Gogh painted a small, peaceful village under the night sky. And it is curious that the church spire is the only thing that rises above the horizon to be part of the sky. Given that van Gogh was raised in a Dutch family that professed to be Christians, some people think the church spire was his statement of hope in the midst of his problems.

And I’ve often wondered if that were true. For a man of such enormous talent, I pray that he did, indeed, reach out to the God of the Bible.

And so I was inspired to render my own starry night in an oil painting.

I painted the three wise men under a van Gogh-like blue sky, swirling with sweeping colors. It’s a sky filled with glory above the wise men as they searched for the newborn King.

It took a long time to execute this painting; with a brush between my teeth, I dabbed row after row after row after row of pastel tones: coral, pink paint; turquoise, dark blue, all moving and swirling to convey a sky that was alive and even electric with anticipation. An active night sky concealing an angelic host that was just ready to, ready to burst through the color with their heaven-shaking announcement:

“Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace and good will toward men.”

Luke 2:14

–Joni Eareckson Tada