Page 48 - The Book of Rumi

The judging day was upon them, and both groups of painters impatiently
awaited the sultan’s arrival. Musicians fi lled the palace grounds, and people
danced and made merry while awaiting the fi nal results to be called out. The
sultan eventually arrived with his entourage and went directly to view the
Chinese chef-d’oeuvre. The designs and the colors applied to the walls of the
small cottage had transformed it into a grand palace of dreams! He had never
seen such beautiful art in his life and was astounded. It took the sultan a very
long time to detach himself from the beauty that surrounded him and to step
outside the cottage.
Having seen what the greatest artists might possibly achieve, he was now
exceptionally curious to see what the Greek painters had created. Reluctantly,
he left the cottage of the Chinese painters and walked across to the other cot-
tage, which was hidden from view by an enormous curtain. He ordered the
curtain to be drawn back and instantly understood the miracle that the Greek
painters had achieved.
Before the sultan stood the decrepit cottage, which in fact no lon-
ger seemed old or dilapidated. The mildew and stains of the past had been
patiently and laboriously removed. The artists had scrubbed, polished, and
refi ned the walls to the extent that everything, including the Chinese paintings

in the cottage opposite, was perfectly reflected onto them, exemplifying their
purity. The work of the Chinese painters, in all its complexity and beauty, was
manifested in the art of the Greek painters’ simplicity and transparency, thus
rendering it unfathomably more glorious.
The sultan could not hide his amazement at how the Greek painters had
managed to re-create beauty in its purest form, creating the perfect state. He
had no doubt which group had the superior artists.

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