The Spirit of Contemplation (1901)

The Spirit of Contemplation is a 38-inch-high Bronze by Albert Toft dating to 1901 and has been displayed at the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, since 1915. It is one of Toft's most celebrated works: rather melancholic, it shows a fashionably dressed woman, anticipating the interwar years with her rather daring pose and apparel. She has a scroll across her legs, and its contents she presumably contemplates. Its message is not revealed, but it is of sufficient import to pause her time and dwell upon its implications.

I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,

As much as in all riches.

I will meditate on Your precepts,

And contemplate Your ways.

I will delight myself in Your statutes;

I will not forget Your word. Psalm 119:14-16

The actual verb ‘contemplate’ is used infrequently in the New King James Version (above), and not at all in the Authorised, but synonyms are often employed. God’s word, the Bible, is not just to be skim read or even recited, but meditated upon, considered, thought through and deliberated. So go to your favourite chair, read it, re-read it, and leave it on your knee as your ponder and digest, applying it to your life, your speech, your thoughts and your actions.

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19