‘Many things begin with seeing, in this world of ours.’
Lilias Trotter, little known artist-turned-missionary of the 19th century, has her long-forgotten story told in director Laura Waters Hinson’s latest film. Through interviews with Trotter experts from North America and the UK and character narrative supplied by Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey) and John Rhys-Davies (Lord of the Rings), Many Beautiful Things unfolds the events and relationships of Trotter’s life, which took her from painting protégé to North African missionary.
Florida pastor’s wife
Had it not been for Miriam Rockness, a Florida pastor’s wife, this story may never have been told. It was a fortuitous encounter with a book bearing Trotter’s name which began a 30-year research project for Rockness, one which saw her travel across seas in her quest to know more of Trotter and her art.
John Ruskin, leading English art critic and social commentator of the Victorian era, quickly took a shine to the 23-year-old artist after meeting her and her mother while the three were in Venice. Striking up a friendship that involved visits to his Lake District home and a correspondence that lasted for years, Ruskin was committed to encouraging Trotter to devote herself fully to her art, believing that she ‘would be the greatest living painter and do things that would be immortal.’
The film brings to the fore the uniquely detailed lens through which she saw the world with great sensitivity and compassion, not taking for granted the petals on a rose or the movement of a sparrow. Trotter knew what it was to dwell as a humble creature before her creator, moving moment by moment in a creation infused with its maker’s splendour. It is said that when Trotter saw the Alps for the first time, she wept. Through lingering shots zoomed in on details of nature which most of us have grown bored of and blind to, the film draws attention to this aspect of Trotter’s character, which is vital in understanding the struggle she later faces.
Compelled to missionary life
Her correspondence with Ruskin grew apace, a tender friendship revealed through their letters and his coaching of her art work, culminating in her facing a decision that would change her life. Living in London and being heavily involved in the fledgling YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) aiding the sick, poor and widowed, Trotter’s work took on hues of browns and greys, for which Ruskin chastised her. He criticised the quality of her work and blamed her for not giving her talent the time and attention it deserved.
During this time she felt compelled towards a missionary life in North Africa, and went through a period of spiritual turmoil, feeling the tension between pursuing a career as a professional artist, which Ruskin was pushing for, or going overseas. The film comes very close to creating a false dichotomy between Trotter pursuing the God-given gift of her art and ‘pursuing the Kingdom of God’ as a missionary, as if the former were not as capable of bringing God glory as the latter.
Love for God
Moving to Algiers, the film displays how Trotter’s attention to the details of creation was not limited to the natural world, but was just as vivid in the way she paid attention to the least of people, to their needs and the details of their lives, and offered what she could of herself to them. This display of small moments of self-sacrificial love, rather than grand gestures, is compelling. She did not despise the small and did not resist entering into the mess of peoples’ lives. So the film clearly ties together her love of God with a whole-life appreciation of his creation. The cinematography reflects this in the way that it is an aesthetic tribute to the work of the artist.
While the film comes worryingly close to creating a division between the ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’ by presenting the paths available to Trotter as her ‘dream’ (art) and her ‘true calling’ (missionary work), Trotter’s own life closed the division. She recorded this life in Algiers in a daily journal. Written entries are accompanied by photography and paintings of the people, places and sights of her life there. Though created only for her eyes as a recollection of the beauty she saw in every day, it is a model of how we flourish as God’s creatures when we recognise and use the passions he has given us, no matter in which realm they are located. Lilias Trotter didn’t cast off her art as she began life as a missionary – instead, her art blossomed as she wrapped it into her way of life and let her daily experiences spill out through her paintbrush.
More information at www.manybeautifulthings.com
