Rabbi Learning

There is a counterpart to this religious portrait of a rabbi intent on studying which is deeply symbolic painting. In that canvas the students are seated amid the benches of a rundown all-purpose one-room shul/yeshiva. But even without knowing this one can sense its presence within this portrait painting. The rabbi is intent on not listening to the sounds of the other chanting studiers. He is deeply focused on not looking around and transfixed on his passages of deliberation. We can almost hear and feel the rhythmic sounds and see the others as studious as this rabbi. The symbolism in the other religious artwork piece is the opposite of this paintings studious solitary, which represent the communal aspect of study and solidarity. Here there is a meditative, and rhythmic chanting of rote memorization of passages, amid the quite chatter of communal happenings.

But here, within this artwork, the artist has placed the figure on the central axis of the canvas as though this might lend some stability and support to the old mans mind which is intent on forgetting and seriously interested in retaining his focus on studying. The seated position seems a little unstable. The pulpit is leaned inward with one hand holding the books pages open and simultaneously holding the wooden podium forward. But, his gaze seems contemplative and and his movements calm. It is this position of grace and rote attitude which has been a part of the choreographed artistry of years of study that seem to defy gravity. But it is that hold that is precarious at the same time.

We suspect that we already know how this moment will end. That he will lean the pulpit forward, sit back in the chair to gather strength, and gaze out at the others studying. His moment of contemplation and transfixing broken. His concentration lost. The beautiful balance of head forward ever so slightly lost. But, at the same time the old mans pensiveness seems to radiate a feeling of tranquility and an un-rooted timelessness that absolutely forbids this type of thoughts from occurring in the art lover. But, furthermore, the artist has allowed for no such thing to happen, and it would be impossible in this painting. There is no contoured environment, no seat back for him to lean, no room for the podium to lean back on and no floor for it to rest. The very physical and real attribute of movement, position, and balance becomes unreal in this painting. The moment that the old man abandons his transfixed, and studious, position his pose of artificial grace and wisdom disappears.

Since the stretch of time from the 1700-1800's there has been a facet of art that has been enumerated in various forms. Artists began to define it in their paintings at the same time as literary writers. The art critics, who were fairly new at the time, began to leave the flourishing explanations of what they saw painted and tackle the amazing art paintings in a way that hurt the artists. This caused an exotic tension between artists and society. But, regardless of the feelings of the artists the critics took it upon themselves to view the artwork created with new-found interests.

One facet of this new found writing freedom came to tackle what is truth in art? And can a painting be found to convey truth? Some writers wanted to know if there were aspects of a painting that best describe idyllic tendencies. It didn't matter if the canvas art was the most amazing artwork around the critics tore apart every aspect of the art. The old writings used to simply give vivid descriptions of the representations that were on the canvases. The symbolic nature of the art was sought, and the comparisons between different forms of art began.

Truth was a funny thing. It was the one of the most basic forms of French art criticism, and it was also present in England in the literature. The Critics praised the truth of certain painters. So take for example the artwork of rabbis studying. This piece of work, which can be found on our site, has the ability to evoke emotion from the deep blue colors juxtaposed with the orange reds and yellows of the candlelight. The intensity of study on the rabbi's face gives the viewer the ability to see deep into the psyche of the rabbi. The old hands which expertly hold the sefer, or book, can be seen in the lower portion of the study stand. The stand is not resting in it's normal position as it is tilted inward to the rabbi who also dips his head forward slightly, just enough to bend the base of his long white beard. There is an intensity in the way his eyes look downward on the page. The rabbi is oblivious to the spectator viewing the painting. He is oblivious to the world, and no doubt has his mind swirling with the vexes of truth. The intricate laws of the bible are being contemplated with a ferocious intensity like no other. The old rabbi is seated in a soft chair with an armrest, but his hand is carefully holding the shtender, podium, as he sways in study.

The glow of the candlelight effuses the painting with a hint of light, just enough to see the expression of the rabbi, and the outline of the other important elements in this painting. The gemaras, Talmuds, outline reflects the light. The face of the rabbi reflects the light. The seat the rabbi sits upon reflects the light. The hand of the rabbi reflects the light. These four elements are extremely important in understanding the inner emotions of this painting. The suffused light is the light of knowledge. The light of truth. The light of the eternal one. The holy light seeks those aspects of our physical wold and transforms them from mundane physical entities to G-dly items used for holy attributes and tasks.

The amazing artwork is trying to convey that the seat the rabbi sits upon has had the pleasure of being transformed from a mundane chair to a chair that has history and provenance. The chair with dark varnished wooden arms that gracefully curve, and white cushion compressed under the rabbis weight, has seen Eliyahu Hanavi, Elijah the Prophet, when it was used as the sandeks chair, companion of child, which is the person holding the child during the bris ritual circumcision. The sefers pages glow with the suffused light as they have been elevated from the mundane book to the book that hold the truth over the centuries. The book holds the conversations of decades of rabbies discussing, arguing, expounding, and clarifying the laws of the Old Testament. And of course the Rabbi whose face is reflecting the light is now being elevated from a creature to human. His studying carries him from simplicity to complex levels of the Sefirot. The soul of the rabbi bursts forth with brilliance. The hand that has the light is the left hand, and not the right hand. This significance is attributed to the fact that this rabbi is left handed. The purpose of making him left handed is to show that everyone is different, and in a right handed person the Mitzvot, good deeds are done with the right hand. For the most part, the left handed person goes against the normal methods and uses his left hand for many of the same deeds. The left hand is participatory in making the person whole. The right hand puts on the teffilin, phylacteries, and it kisses the mezuzah, amulet hung on doors of homes with parchments written on by scribes with significant portions of the Old Testament, and with ritual washing. But, furthermore, the Lulav, waving of the four species, is traditionally also held in the left hand. Making this more important to this rabbi who also is connected to the book by his hand.

The feelings that this paintings evokes can be referred to as intense. The aspect of elevating the rabbi, and other significant items can also be pushed forth from the painting towards the viewer. The very act of the paint pushed around until it forms this image also elevates the artwork itself. It is this significance that associates the viewer with the art, and the subtle background of the G-dly aspects of raising the mundane to the holy. The viewer should be able to leave this masterpiece both wondering and tranquil. The wonderment should come from the internal questions this art raises, by making the viewer ask themselves what can they do to elevate the mundane to the G-dly. And the tranquil aspect comes from the feelings that although they just spent time contemplating piece of canvas art they were not just wasting time, but also viewing something that helps them transcend the mundane. This is done via the original glance which can be perceived as only seeing it as paint, canvas, wood, varnish, acrylic, glass beads, and other materials used to create the artwork. But, then as they move their eyes around the painting they begin to develop the pattern of light and dark. The candlelight yellow suffused on various parts. The blues and reds melting together. It is at that time that the image comes forth. The intense image of the rabbi studying begins to emerge. This is when the painting jumps from the canvas to the mind. The mind then begins to formulate the deeper elements. The patterns of light are connected with the picture, and the meanings behind it should pop forth. At that very instance the individual elevated the artwork. They both understood the meaning of the painting, and elevated it themselves. This should lead to a tranquility of self.

Art should be able to help convey truth. Since truth is about proving an existence. And when an emotion is seen in art it is an experience of ones own capacity for empathy and sympathy. This is brought forth, in the painting of the rabbi studying intently, when the underlying historical attributes come into play. The few other items that can be discovered in the darker areas of the artwork are the rabbi yarmulka, or hat, and his kapatah, or coat. These lend a historical construct to the image. It places the painting in the frame of the time from 1500-early 1900. Which is close enough to remember yet distance enough to be 'another ere' and not of today's issues. These two simple items gives the viewer a chance to distance themselves from the daily troubles these people have gone through, and the horrors that are bound to come onto this rabbi during his life. But, it also is close enough to give them a chance to think about what they can do to prevent history from repeating. The Rabbi can be from the troubling era of the Pogroms, or the Cossacks, or the Holocaust. It is not meant to be specific to any locale or time as it should represent simply the overall troubles that the Jewish people have gone through. The study then becomes even more intense as one realizes that the rabbi is not only lost in thought, but also distancing himself from the harsh realities of his life.

The rabbi is not devoid of emotion either. Once can tell that he profoundly stroked his beard and smoothed his mustache is a nervous manner. Most likely to ease his mind from wandering back to reality during study. This emotive aspect of the art that comes from the rabbi, the light, the era, and the intensity highlights the artists empathy or sympathy and it can be seen as a way of proving existence, which thus can be construed as truth.

This truth can also be understood in the artwork within the context of clarity and simplicity when understood from a the perspective of pictorial composition. The Rabbi is seated and studying. His head is in the upper corner at the cross-hairs of one of the rule of thirds. But, yet he defies this by tilting his head forward, as if to tell the artist himself, that he can not be bothered with the frivolous painting, and must get back to studying the Torah, laws, and can not be constrained to rules of aesthetics. The truth lied primarily in the reduction to a few generally simple pictorial objects, but also in the clarity of the composition and the restraint of the pictorial techniques.

The simple side perspective of the book, the rabbi is also presented to the spectators without any ornamentation or decoration. This is the absolute epitome of simplicity. The tranquil atmosphere of the picture thrives on the significance built in, or inherent, in the painting.

Aside from the allegorical references to what the artist is presenting. The painting simply is. The rabbi is simply studying. But, the truth can be sought by discovering the stimulating light which forces the viewer to seek the source. As there is no candle painted the source of the enigmatic pictorial puzzle is for the watcher to elucidate from the paintings meanings. The objects are exactly as is to assist the viewer in understanding the deeper meanings of the artwork and attribute it to his daily life. They are much more than they need to be. And they are volumes more than they appear to be. It is this simplicity, and tranquility, that make the idea of truth appear justified when contemplating this work of art in the rabbi studying intently.

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