Above: Rembrandt “Portrait of an Old Man” (The Old Rabbi) 1665
By Tzipora Moses
I am sure this has happened to all of you. You see a breathtaking sunset. Colors that you thought only existed in the prose and poetry of 19th century writers. Hues that invoke majesty and the “imagination” of a Divine Creator. So you stop your car – or let your friends power walk ahead of you, so that you can zap out your phone and capture the moment. You take a shot – and another and then – another. But you can’t get it. The camera is first rate, but it just cannot reflect back at us what real life is gifting us.
And then the moon comes out and this scenario plays out again. You run for your phone, camera, whatever device du jour – – but it won’t cooperate. The moon is laughing at us! “Yes I am shining exquisitely bright and my craters are toying with your vision” she says, “But you will not capture me along the entire visual experience with the velvety sky and brilliant rays for eternity” on a piece of paper or screen. And we anticipate the next occurrence of Hashem’s visual gift to us, and it happens again! Maybe brighter, perhaps more subtle but always glorious. Snap away – with disappointing results.
What do to, what to do??
When we were kids, I, not unlike you, took out crayons and markers, drew round circles with small sharp lines around the perimeters. Yellow Crayola crayons and voila! We had a sun. Black scratch boards, back and forth motions with the wooden stick, little tongues hanging against the corners of our little mouths, concentrating to get that white circle to remind us of “Goodnight Moon!” But, I always sighed and wished for a more accurate representation of reality.
My esteemed uncle, Professor Emiretus Matthew Baigell, is an art historian and prolific author. From the time I was a little girl, I read his books on artists of different periods, including American Jewish artists and their response to the Holocaust. This is when I discovered that there is a way that we can capture a dazzling moment – it is by using the various techniques that marry ink/paint to the various forms of canvas being used.
Human beings have been depicting nature in various art forms, from the beginning of time. In the Negev in Eretz Yisroel we have primitive images of engravings of prehistoric images.
The Renaissance period in the 17th Century in Europe, produced an improved art form of Realism, and chiaroscuro (the contrast between light and dark) techniques depicted in painting by Michelangelo and his contemporaries. We find Judaica themes, amongst the great Rembrandt, who had a favorable relationship with the Jews in his Dutch community, and were often the subjects of his paintings. Fast forward to more modern times and we see the works of Marc Chagall 1887 – 1985 (born Moishe Shagal) who depicted many biblical themes. The majority of his stained glass works are in non-Jewish places of worship however the Jewish community takes pride in his fantastic work depicting the Tribes of Jacob in the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.
Jews have always been patrons of the Arts and a tremendous quantity of the world’s most valuable art was stolen from them during the Holocaust, with very little of it having been returned.
In 2015 an untitled work by Marc Rothko – a Jewish American painter (born: Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz, 1903 in Dvinsk, Russian , died: 1970 in America), sold at a Sotheby’s auction for 46.5 Million dollars. You read it correctly and it’s not a typo. The painting seemingly consists of two colors on a blank canvas, divided into a yellow upper part and blue lower part. We all think that we did stuff like this in Kindergarten but art historians can prove us wrong. There is something that he does that moves us – that feels like an experience, whether the canvas has many or as few as two depicted colors.
On my own quest to find out more about what makes art move us so much that we value it as a great form of currency, I have studied historical works as well as the treasure of works we have here and now by G-d fearing artist amongst us. Never have we as a community been so blessed to have the ability to view and acquire works that are not just adornments for our homes, but panaceas to the itch of “how do I capture that – feeling – that Yom Tov – that surreal sunrise and that historical miracle.”
An example of one such acclaimed talent amongst us is Mira Eisen. Mrs. Eisen considers herself a humble vehicle for sharing this talent with us. In her words “I hold a brush in my hand, and Hashem directs me to carry out a vision.” She was born in Israel to a family with Chabad and Sadigurya chassidic roots. Her great, great, grandfather was an Ish Kodosh, a Bnei Brak Talmud chochom who studied Zohar and dabbled in art.
She is a lively and passionate neshama, who teaches and paints works that can bring us to a state of inner reflection, introspection, or just plain, joy.
Her typical canvas will start out with several spills of paint in carefully chosen colors and from there the magic happens. The spills become swirls and become a backdrop for the theme that will be so exquisitely executed. When I view her work, there is a suspension of disbelief, if you will, meaning – you become transported into the work; you are not only an admirer but a subject transported into the time and place of the scene depicted. She is a master of impressionism as well as realism, and can portray a scene in abstract form, or down to its finest detail in a facial feature.
And this, my friends, is how Hashem gave us the ability to capture and preserve reality.
Kol Hakovod to her and her contemporaries who share this gift with us and make even an average day, and our own abodes, simple or grand, more beautiful and meaningful. Oh, and I still have Crayolas and I hope you do too!
Mira Eisen : “Eliyahi Havavi Acending to Shamayim” 2020
Mark Chagall 1962
Prehistoric art in the negev dessert photo courtesy of Zev Rothkoff
