Spiritist art not only touches us, but comforts and clarifies us about the reality of the future life, after the human being disembodies. It also serves as self-help and provides the literary subjects with its confirmation of the sacred as an essential part of our inter-existence on two planes of one same life: physical and spiritual. On the other hand, Spiritist art, with its great importance in literature, but not only in literature, opposes Materialism to the theory of Spiritualism confirmed by the Spiritist Doctrine, based on the scientific method of observation and experimentation, as Allan Kardec announced. In this way, this art becomes more and more appreciated in Brazil and abroad.

We have already had the opportunity to write about Spiritist Art in our article published in the Reformer of August, 2016. In that text, we emphasize Allan Kardec's position about this art, highlighting his words, published in Posthumous Works (2009, page 211), when he says that this was still "an entirely new field, immense and still unexplored". Through Art, Spirits interact with us, directly or indirectly, since we know through them that their influence "in our thoughts and in our acts" is much wider than is imagined (The Book of Spirits, question 459).

From the mid-19th century to the present day, the influence of the Spirits in Art, in many countries, but mainly in Brazil, has become massive and very rich, confirming, more and more, the words of the Encoder of Spiritism. As we have seen, in the mentioned article, literature, theater, music and painting have been used, over the centuries - and now the seventh art, cinema, has been added - as creative manifestations of the Spirit within both existential planes: physical and metaphysical.

And it shall come to pass in the last days, said the Lord, that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream; and I will pour out my servants and my maidservants in those days, and they shall prophesy; I will cause wonders to appear above in the sky and signs on the earth below: blood, fire and vapor of smoke (Acts 2:17 to 19).

Besides the psycho-graphed literary works and other Art, such as cinema, theater and music, we have in the painting several mediums that paint pictures with their hands and even with their feet under the influence of famous painters such as Picasso, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh and many others. Such sensitives are called psycho-pictographic mediums. One of these psychics is Livio Barbosa, who according to Romero (2016), on June 19, 2015, painted, live on TV, with his hands, a painting by Oscar-Claude Monet, "the most famous impressionist painter in the world" (on TV Cidade Verde, from the Brazilian state of Piaui), causing amazement and commotion among those present at the studios and everyone, who watched TV.

According to Romero (2016), during the event mentioned above, Livio Barbosa clarified that mediumistic painting is not easy, since there is a need for Spirits, who are artists, to transmit some of their technique and genius to someone who knows nothing or almost nothing about this art, as it is the case of the psycho-pictographic mediums. That may be reason why some art experts do not believe in the authenticity of the Spirit's authorship, though the speed and processes used in painting pictures are uncommon. When a medium paints these works he uses his fingers or toes, instead of using brushes. In addition, it is often seen that the medium does not even look at the screen or keeps his eyes closed while painting. The colored inks are mixed in the appropriate container, but when this polychromic mass is taken to the picture, by the fingers or feet of the medium, it re-assumes its specific coloring, according to the desire of the demonstrating Spirit.

Another psycho-pictography medium is Mrs. Valdelice Salum, 78 years old, (11/05/1938), who can hardly read or write, born in a rural family in the Brazilian state of Bahia. This medium paints with her hands and feet, for more than thirty years, paintings attributed to the Spirits Aleijadinho, Anita Malfatti, Monet, Picasso, Portinari, Renoir, Vincent, and so on. The income obtained from the sale of the paintings is donated to charitable institutions. And Valdelice is recognized for her work aimed at assisting the needy.

As a young woman, Valdelice Salum used to see paintings "falling on her head" and did not understand what was happening. Only after she was married did she decide to look for Chico Xavier, since she was a devoted Chatholic. The medium encouraged her to attend a Spiritist institution and study The Gospel According to Spiritism, after telling her that there were many Spirits around her and they were painters waiting for her willingness to spread the spiritual life through mediumistic painting.

According to Zanella (2016), Valdelice's paintings in 2008, when she performed live on an Italian TV, became a success in that country. It is now seen that Spiritism occupies an increasingly prominent space, both in the scientific area and in the most diversified artistic genres, in addition to literature.

To think about immortality and about the possibility of disincarnate Spirits intervening in our world, so palpably, was like breaking down barriers of concepts and prejudices, of uncertainties and skepticism. The TV host himself said publicly that it would be very difficult to forget the atmosphere of peace and serenity that was breathed during the recording of the program and admitted that he had never imagined seeing something similar happen before his own eyes (ZANELLA, 2016).

These two images were made available to us by the daughter of the medium, Suely Salum, who kindly gave us the right to publish her mother's works. We remember that Valdelice's paintings are made with both her fingers and toes, although she does not have any physical limitations that could prevent her from using the brushes normally. The primary objective is to prove to us the survival of these great painters and, consequently, our own immortality.

Other spiritual entities that operate through this psycho-pictographic medium sign their paintings, which already count by hundreds of works, with the names of P. Cezanne, H. Matisse, Renoir, Salvador Dali, Toulouse Lautrec and so on.

Presently there are several mediums of this pictographic art in Brazil. I quote only these two and emphasize the mediumship of Valdelice - without underestimating the work received from the Spirits by other mediums - in view of the simplicity of Salum, who, being represented by her daughter, because she is unlettered, has been for decades a humble and faithful instrument of the Highest Spirituality. This and other mediums are channels used by the disincarnated artists to confirm the words of the Prophet Joel, quoted by Peter:

And it shall come to pass in the last days, said the Lord, that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream; and I will also pour my Spirit upon my servants and my maidservants in those days, and they shall prophesy; I will cause wonders to appear above in the sky and signs on the Earth below: blood, fire and vapor of smoke (Acts 2:17 to 19).

Jesus was once sought by some Pharisees who asked for a sign to believe in Him. The Divine Master told them that no sign would be given to them except the one of Jonah. As we know, this Prophet was allegedly swallowed by a whale and stayed three days in its belly, after which he was expelled alive. The first great sign that Jesus gave us is represented symbolically: He was crucified and buried in a cave, but three days later, He manifested Himself first to Magdalene and then to His disciples. Another sign, too, that Christ gave us and continues giving, is the gift of mediumship – this is the modern name we give to prophecies. There are several gifts, but the main purpose is to prove the immortality of the soul through mediumistic manifestations that are: psychography, psychophony, clairvoyance, materialization, hearing and psycho-pictography, among other types of mediumship.

Since immortality is proved, we have the main duty to repay all these blessings, through study, observation, reflection, and by using common sense to repel, even if they are ten truths, rather than accepting a single false theory, as the Spirit Erastus warns us in The Book of Mediums (In: Kardec, 2013b, Chapter XX), but to follow the maxim of Jesus: "by the fruits you will recognize the good tree" (Luke 6:44).

From what can be seen, the psycho-pictographic works of the self-denying mediums to prove the immortality of the Spirit, and the beneficent performance of these people, accredit them as examples of loyal servants of Jesus, for the good that their work offers to Humanity. The good medium is always seeking to learn to serve better, and is mindful of the Christ's recommendation: "Give what you have freely received for free" (Matthew 10: 8).

He does not boast of his mediumship, because he knows that it is a gift that, as it has been given to him by God, it can also be withdrawn. He does not do this as a means of material enrichment of his own, for he is aware that, if he does it, he will be moving away from the influence of the Good Spirits and attracting the company of ignorant entities. Always learn, because you know that the greater your knowledge, the better your attunement to the Higher Spirits, who wish to transmit through you the messages of their sublime Art.

Mediums such as Valdelice Salum, even though they did not have the opportunity to become literate on a regular basis, they accept with pleasure the influences of the Spirits, due to the knowledge they acquired in other existences. His gift extends in the practice of prayer, vigilance and disinterested service to others, according to Jesus' recommendation. Thus, when he frees himself from the physical body through sleep at night, the good medium enters the high spiritual regions, where he attends sublime lessons of enlightenment of his soul and hears recommendations to practice humility, forgiveness and love of neighbor, to which he must unconditionally serve and clarify through his mediumistic work and daily example of the good.

His relentless dedication to others and his willingness to learn the techniques of mediumistic painting with these artists of the Beyond allow mediums such as Valdelice Salum to reproduce with utmost fidelity the canvases from the laboratories of the spiritual world, to show us our immortality. In this way, we begin to think about the importance of being protagonists of each stage of our eternal life and we realize that it is up to us to work, to learn and to serve everywhere, in order to reach the happiness of the righteous.

Art is an instrument of God that gives us the truth, the beauty and the joy of living. That is why Good Spirits always use them for our delight and learning. One of them is psycho-pictography. ⁽¹⁾

References:

KARDEC, Allan. Posthumous Works. Translated by Evandro Noleto Bezerra. Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian Spiritist Federation, 2009.

______. The Book of Spirits. Translation by Guillon Ribeiro. 93^rd Edition. Brasilia: FEB, 2013. Historical edition.

______. The Gospel According to Spiritism. Translation by Guillon Ribeiro. 131^st  Edition. Brasilia: FEB, 2013a. Historical edition.

______. The Book of Mediums. Translation by Guillon Ribeiro. 81^st Edition, Brasília: FEB, 2013b. Historical edition.

ROMERO, Maria. Artist paints a mediumistic painting of Monet, live on TV Cidade Verde. To access, click here

ZANELLA, Regina. Mediumistic painting is highlighted in the Italian media. To read the report, here is the link

[1] Text adapted from a chapter of the author’s doctoral thesis, entitled Chamados de Assis: espaços fantásticos do rio mutante na obra machadiana, approved at the University of Brasilia on September 12, 2016.