The Entire World Inside

My favourite painter is Johannes Vermeer, the great Dutch artist of the 17th century. We only have 37 or so paintings that have survived and one of them is lost after being stolen. I could have written about any of Vermeer's artworks, and probably will, but I think The Geographer, which can be seen at the Stadel Museum in Frankfurt, illustrates best Vermeer's ability to summon the entire world in one painting; and I have been reflecting on Therapy's ability to do the same.

Vermeer can paint the delicacy of light like no-one else, not even Rembrandt. In The Geographer Vermeer's light shines on the the Geographer's forehead: we see this again and again in religious paintings; the divine light inspiring the writing of the Bible, as in Durer's Saint Jerome in his Study from 1514 (pictured below). Vermeer's Geographer has the entire world in his mind, waiting to be drawn.

The light also shines on the mostly blank map, waiting to be drawn, and the set aside rolled maps on the floor. This is something new for the Geographer. He pauses, looking into the distance at neither the map nor outside, but into his inner life, filled with inspiration before he begins to draw.

In Therapy, the room is filled with the Client's entire world. As a Supervisor of other Therapists, I see my role as helping them to see their Client most clearly, and as a Therapist myself I want to convey this clarity to the Client. I want the Client to have an internal awareness of their place in their world; how they are shaped by their experiences, and what has been out of their awareness before.

One of my favourite writers about Therapy, Irvin Yalom, talks about Therapy as 'not a substitute for life but a dress rehearsal for life'. It is a means to an end, not the end in itself. I want my Clients to understand themselves better, but also to be able to go back into the external world as changed people; to have a transformation in their lives with their friends, families, and co-workers.

Vermeer's Geographer is inspired, and reflecting, but he will go on to draw his map; to create something new in the world. We are the same; we see who we truly are; and then bring that into the world.