Albert Schweitzer
Reverence for Life
24 x 18 inches • oil on wood panel • artist Steve Simon
Biography
About the Painting
Selected Quote
Overview
Albert Schweitzer began his professional life as both a theologian and an internationally recognized organist but yearned to serve humanity more directly. He decided to study medicine and through organ concerts and other fundraising collected enough capital to establish a clinic in Lambaréné, Gabon in equatorial Africa. Over the years, the clinic grew into a hospital with 72 buildings and 600 beds.
Through his work, Schweitzer developed his “reverence for life” philosophy which taught the sacred respect for the will of all things to live and coexist. In 1952, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and used the award money to add to his hospital’s capacity in the treatment of leprosy.
Albert Schweitzer Biography
Albert Schweitzer was born on January 14, 1875 in what was then the German province of Alsace-Lorraine. Schweitzer’s father and maternal grandfather were both ministers. Two of his grandparents were gifted organists. So it was that this brilliant mind would pursue interests in both of these disciplines, becoming a theologian, an internationally recognized organist, and a restorer of historic pipe organs.
After obtaining his doctorate in theology, he began preaching in Strasbourg. Over the next twelve years, he held a variety of positions at the theological college where he had studied while also authoring a biography on Bach, The Quest of the Historical Jesus, and a book on the art of building and playing organs.
At this stage, Schweitzer began acting on a deeply held conviction. Some years earlier, Schweitzer had decided to commit himself to serve humanity directly by the age of thirty. It was indeed at that age Schweitzer had an epiphany. A French missionary society was looking for a medical doctor to serve in Africa. So, in 1905, he began his studies to earn a doctorate in medicine. Friends and family were shocked and urged him otherwise, but Schweitzer had developed a deep desire to atone for what he saw as the Europeans’ historical degradation of the black race.
Schweitzer had decided to commit himself to serve humanity directly by the age of thirty.
Through organ concerts and other fund raising, he collected enough capital to launch his plan. In 1913, he and wife Helene left for Lambaréné in French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon) and set up a clinic near an existing mission. Helene had left her own career as a scholar in favor of nursing to participate in what became a mutual mission. Schweitzer even managed to deliver a pedal piano built for the tropics and delivered by pirogue, a hollowed-log canoe.
Albert Schweitzer Monument, sculpted by Gerhard Geyer, Weimar, Germany
photo: Michael Mertens
Over the years the clinic grew into a hospital with 72 buildings and 600 beds. Schweitzer returned to Europe a total of fourteen times, seeking financing through organ recitals and other fund-raising. He also continued to probe his philosophical and spiritual muses. He wrote The Philosophy of Civilization (1923), The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle (1929), Out of My Life and Thought: An Autobiography (1931), and Indian Thought and Its Development (1935).
Like Leo Tolstoy, Schweitzer was influenced by Schopenhauer’s book The World as Will and Representation and like Mohandas Gandhi, Schweitzer was influenced by the Jain philosophy of ahimsa. These influences, together with his Christian foundational belief of “Love Thy Neighbor,” led Schweitzer to arrive at his famous “Reverence for Life” worldview.
Through the extraordinary achievements made manifest by his hospital and his advancement of his “Reverence for Life” philosophy, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. Characteristically, he used the stipend to add to his hospital’s capacity, in this case for the treatment of leprosy.
Albert Schweitzer died on September 4, 1965, at the age of 90. He was buried at Lambaréné.
About the Painting
There are those who have a difficult time hearing the quiet inner voice that is their true passion in life. Albert Schweitzer had a different problem. He had three distinct passions clamoring loudly for his attention. Schweitzer was a gifted musician, an insightful theologian, and a renowned medical missionary. He was somehow able to integrate these three passions into an extraordinary life.
One of J.S. Bach’s pieces that Schweitzer frequently played on the organ was “Toccata and Fugue in D minor.” “Toccata” is Italian for touch, and in the musical sense, a virtuoso’s touch. The painting depicts Schweitzer utilizing this virtuosity borne of musical sensitivity, informed by theological study, and expressed through compassionate medical care.
Later in life, Schweitzer also began exploring philosophy. He was seeking a universal ethics for humanity. The words came to him on a riverboat ride in French Equatorial Africa—“Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben.” This “Reverence for Life” reflects the great humanitarian’s perspective on the sacred unity of all creation. He described the philosophy as “I am life that wills to live in the midst of life that wills to live.”
Selected Albert Schweitzer Quote
“Life becomes harder for us when we live for others, but at the same time it becomes richer and happier.”
