Surprised by kindness
A thoughtful moment in a naughty world
It could be said that my profession is darkness - as a crime fiction writer I deal in the harm people do each other - and I was halfway through writing an article about that, when I realised that, on this occasion, it wasn’t darkness I wanted to write about, but the moment of a stranger’s extraordinary empathy which I had experienced over twenty years ago, the memory of which I treasure to this day.
I was on holiday in Russia - yes, it was possible then, and no, I am not going there now, neither actually, nor as a topic in this article. I had been to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, which was amazing, but also disappointing. I had very much been looking forward to seeing Henri Matisse’s Moroccan triptych, only to find that only two paintings in the triptych were on show - the third was in a travelling exhibition. They had The View from the Window in Tangiers and Zorah on the Terrace, but no more. As I say, I was disappointed, perhaps unreasonably so, as the two paintings on show were already superb, but it nagged at me. There was a sense of incompleteness I couldn’t quite get to grips with.
There was much else to explore and wonder at, though, and so the days passed. The following week I was in St Petersburg. I went, of course, to the Hermitage, again and again and again, and stood amazed before the Andrei Rublev paintings.
Then I found that there was a temporary exhibition of modern art at the Marble Palace. I went, and wandered in a dutiful and desultory way, until I went into one room and found, mounted on its own against a dark wall, the third painting from the Matisse triptych - The Entrance to the Kasbah.
I must have shown some sort of astonishment and gladness - my rudimentary Russian was certainly not up to explaining to the quiet custodian sitting on her chair by the door why I was so moved - but, catching how happy I was to see this painting and how I was drinking it in, she took her chair and tiptoed out of the room, leaving me alone to look at it for as long as I wanted. And that was magical.
And now, in my memory, there is that extraordinary empathetic gesture, and the Moroccan triptych, complete
It seems the world is not always a dark and brutal place.
Random kindnesses from strangers does still happen. I think you just have to be observant. It's very cool the way she gave you that moment to enjoy it so much. People really can surprise you for the bad and for the good, sometimes. Awesome story, Sarah.