Anthony van Dyck (1599 - 1641) was born for his painting, he had an exceptional aptitude for painting.

The article ‘aptitude and talent and gift’ describes how feeling for art is built up by means of practising it during many past lives.

The more the artist practises, the more beautiful the art can become which he can create in later lives.

In order to reach the height of Van Dyck, Rubens, Rembrandt, Titiaan, Beethoven, Bach or Mozart, dozens of artist lives are necessary during which the personality systematically increases the control of a particular technique in order to create art.

As well as the long-term practice of the technique during their past lives, the greatest artists have also further refined their art in the hereafter.

Their focus on art did not suddenly disappear at the moment that they entered the spiritual life.

In the hereafter, they could continue working on their art, without limitation of a material body.

In the first sphere of light in the hereafter a temple was even set up for the art, in order to further refine the competence in art.

In this temple the progress of the artists was followed by higher masters of the ‘University of Christ’.

The reason was that these masters saw in the art the possibility of stimulating mankind to focus its feeling on the higher, on that which transcends the coarse-material feeling.

Along with many other means, this art is used in order to drive the grade of feeling of mankind upwards to the attunement of feeling of the first sphere of light.

The masters encouraged the artists to elevate their art as high as possible and to then bring it to earth.

For this purpose, the greatest artists reincarnated to the earth from the first sphere of light.

On earth they brought the art which was attuned to the first sphere of light, and which is higher as feeling than the average grade of feeling of the human being on earth.

This is why various great artists lived on earth during a relatively short period of time.

The masters ensured that when one artist left the earth, the next artist was ready again to continue this work, until the art of the first sphere of light was brought sufficiently to earth.

Then the flow of great artists stopped, because there was no point in bringing more art to earth, the human being would no longer feel any greater encouragement by means of this.

The art from the second sphere of light was still not brought to earth, because it would go far above the feeling of the human being on earth.

Furthermore, many people would want to enrich themselves materially by means of those works.

Those works would be stolen much more than now, only for earning money with them.

There would be more deaths because of this art trade, and the masters do not want to stir that up.

The great artists had not only elevated their art to a great height during their past lives and in the first sphere of light, but in addition they were inspired during their life on earth by the masters of the light.

The masters raised the concentration of the artists during the creating so they would not be distracted by earthly matters, so the feeling of the first sphere of light could be expressed sufficiently in their art.

Many artists felt this inspiration, although most of them were not aware of where that inspiration came from.

On earth they did not remember their preparation in the spheres of light, they were only aware of the purpose of their life, creating art.

In addition, many combined their task with making amends, as described in the article ‘reincarnated for a task’.

In order to show Jozef Rulof how the great artists worked, his spiritual leader Alcar shows him how in the 17th century Anthony van Dyck prepared himself for a work in his studio.

Jozef perceives that Van Dyck received visions which were given to him by invisible beings.

Jozef sees that they were the masters, but Anthony himself only felt that he was helped.

Van Dyck created religious depictions, because he had also focused on religion during his past lives.

Master Alcar also goes back to the time before Anthony reincarnated.

Alcar shows Jozef how Anthony prepared himself in the spheres for his art mission.

Van Dyck meditated there for fifty years in order to focus his feeling completely on the art which he would bring to earth, so that nothing of the earth would obstruct him in this.

In the temple of the art, Jozef sees that as well as Anthony many other artists were preparing themselves to reincarnate.

Alcar asks Jozef whether he also recognizes other artists who have brought their art to earth.

To his surprise, Jozef sees that the teacher of Anthony on earth was also his teacher in the temple of the art.

There too this teacher was in charge, because his whole inner life was attuned to art.

The article ‘making amends’ describes how Anthony and his teacher already got to know each other during past lives.

This is why Anthony got the feeling that he already knew this soul, when he met his teacher on earth.

They were not conscious of their past lives, these experiences had sunk away into their subconscious and the feeling of recognition of this had remained.

Master Alcar shows Jozef that in the 20th century there are also still artists working in the temple of the art in the hereafter.

This temple is open to everyone who wants to enhance his art.

Yet Alcar explains that these artists would be better to descend into the dark spheres in order to help the searching souls there in their journey to the light.

After all, the University of Christ no longer sends any artists to the earth.

The artists who now work in the temple of the art are only busy for themselves.

They can enhance their art feeling, but they will not develop spiritually with this.

As a result, they no longer receive love.

By means of their art, they cannot enhance their grade of feeling, that is only possible by serving the life.

When Jozef asks Alcar whether this is not made clear to these artists in the temple of the art, Alcar replies that this has little point.

The personality of the human being must experience what he focuses his feeling on, until these feelings have been experienced and completely indulged.

It is only then that the human being becomes free from his focus and he is open to something new.

This not only applies to art, but to all the feelings which the personality focuses on.

As soon as the artists are conscious of this, there are masters in the temple in order to explain these laws to them.

Then they see that art is not a goal in itself, but a means, and if it is only deployed for itself, it does not bring any spiritual development.

Anthony already understood this during his stay in the temple of the art.

Then he lived not just for the art, he also descended for many years into the dark spheres in order to help.

As a result, within a short time he acquired a higher grade of feeling for himself.

After his last life on earth as Van Dyck, in the spheres he also worked further on his spiritual development, so that he finally reached the fifth sphere of light.

Then he was ready to serve the spiritual awakening of mankind in a different way.

Via Jozef Rulof, as master Alcar he brought books to earth, which not only revealed his past life as Anthony van Dyck, but also described everything which the human being on earth could use in order to form an idea of the purpose of life on earth.

After bringing these books, Alcar could say to the human being on earth: ‘If I can reach one of you now that you know this and may convince you of your own continued existence, then this work and also my art will not have been for nothing, my efforts will already have been rewarded.’

In his house in the spheres, his paintings hang as spiritual products.

Master Alcar likes to look back on his life as Anthony van Dyck.

However, he now knows that there are many more important panoramas than his paintings.

He now focuses on the higher wisdom of Christ which can be summarized as ‘love everything which lives’.

Reincarnated as Anthony van Dyck -- Sources