ChosenRebel's Blog

Sprezzatura ([sprettsaˈtuːra]) is an Italian word that first appears in Baldassare Castiglione‘s 1528 The Book of the Courtier, where it is defined by the author as “a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it”.^[1] (Wikipedia)

I want to appropriate the word my professor, Dr. Matthew Fike at Winthrop University, gave a wonderfully simple and clear definition of Sprezzatura. “It is the art of hiding artistry.” You go to a concert and are mesmerized by a singing performance that seemed so effortless on the part of the artist. You try to emulate their skill and you realize what looked so effortless to them is beyond your artistic capability. They made it look easy through their sprezzatura. They concealed their art by the perfection of their artistry.

In a culture that is losing its historical memory, moving rapidly away from its Judeo-Christian roots and view of the world, we who follow the Prince of Peace, must become much more skillful in the art of telling the Christian story. We need to develop an artistry to telling the beauty of the Christian narrative. We need to learn a way of telling the story that sneaks up on the culture and captures the imagination of people, allowing them to discovery not only the beauty of the gospel but the truth of the gospel and its ability to give a better and more nurturing picture of reality as it truly is.

While the word, sprezzatura, may be new (or newly discovered) the concept or at least the practice of it is biblical. Exhibit one, see the prophet Nathan’s expertly crafted parable designed to sneak into the conscience of hard-hearted King David living in the depths of his sin after raping Bathsheba and plotting the murder of her husband in 2 Samuel 2:1-7.

2 Samuel 12:1-7

1 And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had very many flocks and herds, ³ but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms,^[a] and it was like a daughter to him. ⁴ Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” ⁵ Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, ⁶ and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

⁷ Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ….

The backstory of course is that Nathan knows David’s history. He knows that David was once a shepherd. He surmises that David probably had a tender spot in his heart for the sheep of his childhood, some of whom may have been more like pets on the lonely hills of Judea. And so, with such knowledge, he crafts a parable designed to sneak past the defenses and approach the conscience of the king. Nathan disguises his agenda under the artistry of his parable, in a way, his sprezzatura.

Alexander Whyte (1836-1921), was a Scottish pastor and theologian famous for his studies and preaching on Bible characters (see Bible Characters from the Old and New Testaments: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume.) Whyte is sometimes called “the last of the Puritan preachers”. Here’s his take on the skillfulness of Nathan’s parable and the casual artistry of his design.