Van der Leeuw writes in his section, "The Image of God":
"The image of God, which most unequivocally attempts to approach the other and the mighty, is the clearest example of formation of images in general. As we have seen, the primitive artist is intensely interested in what he represents, and this interest is neither purely sentimental (romantic), nor purely visual (aesthetic); his interest is, rather, conveyed by his entire personality, directing itself toward the entire being of what is represented"(162).
Debates of iconoclasm or representation of God aside, which is what van der Leeuw discusses later in this section, I was just particularly struck by this paragraph as a life vision of an artist or a seeker of beauty. We are to be the primitive artist, intensely interested in what God represents. We are to allow our entire personalities, our entire essences of being, to be about understanding, dwelling in, and seeking the face of God and the beauty which He is.
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