Hildegard von Bingen—Visionary Child

© Sue Ellen Parkinson

Original – Acrylic on wood, 11” x 18,” $550

This little girl was eight years old when I painted her. That is the age, Hildegard Von Bingen, was when she was given to a monastery and bricked into a cell, with her older cousin, Jutta.  As was the custom, before they were enclosed the priests chanted the Last Rites over them. Hildegard was a child, who loved nature, and the outdoors. She was a precocious, creative, little girl who had brilliant visions. No doubt these attributes sealed her fate. But one monk became her friend. He snuck her books, and plant starts. He brought her nourishing food. He was kind to her. Studies show, that under traumatic conditions, the kindness of one person in a child's life, can save them from a psychotic break.