Journeys to find meaning in a meaningless life filled with existential nihilism: Rembrandt's painting Jacob blessing the sons of Joseph

It is easily observable that this photo carries the three stages of a human- the child, the middle age and the old age. I hope Rembrandt was not having an existential nihilism when he was drawing this painting (of a Jewish mythical story of Jacob in the context of suffering but resilient Jews having being prosecuted for thousands of years had moved and declared Netherlands, the country of Rembrandt as their new Israel for sometime until Hitler of course) and even his other paintings of the ordinary people against the conventions of the renaissance inspired society then that guided that painting, sculpture and all other forms of art had to follow humanistic point of view in drawing grandeur, majesty and pinnacle of the society and only idealistic figures in Jesus, Mary and the perfect naked men and women, angels and cherub.

As I am listening to Mozart while I am writing this, I remember how Mozart too was ostracized for squeezing too many chords at once in his compositions (in the context of all the music of that time having too slow chord transitions from one to another) all his life that only lasted till 35. So this article is about the nihilistic nature of the human life and the response to it by greats like Rembrandt and Mozart and so many of them before and after who has brought human from the existential crisis as has been my story too. This is what our response here at voyage ride is also about.

The story of this painting is related to my earlier painting article on Rembrandt again about "Jacob fighting the angel". The story of this painting is the sequel to the earlier story of the painting, a sequel movie story if you would like to understand it. Jacob or Israel has now got old and about to die and he has to pass the blessing to one of his two grandchildren. The picture shows that the older grandson is not blessed and the younger one being blessed. The earlier painting about Jacob fighting the angel was about Jacob being the younger son deceiving his older brother to have the blessing of his father. The penance of that act had he had to face by being separated from his elder brother and hiding in exile. This time the older wiser Jacob seems to have decided that let the young one not have the same fate or the same deceptive thinking and passing his blessing to the younger one than older. While Jacob's son seems to be moving Jacob's hand to have older grandson have the blessing and the older grandson also showing a disappointed face while the mother of the child feeling expressionless and probably accepting the fate unlike her husband who is trying to twist the fate again like Jacob tried.

Estelle M. Hurll in her book "Rembrandt" writes - And Jacob blessed them that day, saying, "In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim (Younger grandson of Jacob), and as Manasseh (Older grandson of Jacob)" and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

In the old man we see the same Jacob who wrestled by night with the Angel and was redeemed from his life of selfishness. The same strong face is here, softened by sorrow and made tender by love. The years have cut deep lines of character in the forehead, and the flowing beard has become snowy white.

My reason to write on this painting doesn't support the Jewish causes in the modern age right now and neither is it a commentary about the other parties who are suffering through Israel's causes. The reason for it is that I have suffered my whole life with existential nihilism, a life of struggles since I was 14 to explain what this life was about and finding no meaning in it for three decades since. I find the whole life experience absurd and full of nothingness as explained by many thinkers of old age like Buddha, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Camus, Sartre and even now by modern philosophers. How difficult it is to find meaning in suffering and even in sunny days, ask me?

We here at voyage ride we are trying to bring meaning into a meaningless life through our venture. This life is filled with existential nihilism and the mind won't stop from morning to ask, is there any meaning to this life? I think we have found some meaning in asking our friends for last two years regarding joining us in these journeys to the hills and mountains around the world and have a discourse around these things and many more. So that some meaning is added in the lives of people of this existence, which they may have never found for who know a few decades to the last phases of this life. That's why we are still requesting to ride the voyage with us. We are in the same stage as Rembrandt as he found meaning in painting about everyday suffering and sufferers than idealistic figures and Jacob found meaning in blessing his younger grandson over older to choose earlier learning through suffering than following the senseless conventions of the society that in itself bring existential nihilism in the first place.