Reuven and Repin

I can earn lots of positive karma just by writing essays about Russian poetry, art and literature. But I won’t because I have another interesting topic to brainstorm on – Israeli culture. This sphere of local life is completely “incognito” for me and for the most of my countryman. For example the only well – known Israeli author among intelligentsia circles, except Russian - emigrant writers, is Amoz Oz and Meir Shalev. I can’t be sure about why it is going this way. Surly it can’t be explained by deficiency of literature talents. Jewish nation is very talented.

There is a huge problem with reading good classic literature in Russia. Barely half of my friends read and if they do so – it’s usually some foreign, like Chinese or modern rubbish European authors, literature which is rather pointless on my view.
One month ago I decided to lift up the velum and try to find out what is the meaning, concept and what forms the “Israeli’s culture”

My first step was the visit to the museum of Reuven Rubin - Israeli painter who was born in Romania in 1893. I think he was a very interesting and important person for the State of Israel, especially for its arts.

Rubin Zelecovici (later he took an alias Reuven Rubin) was born in a poor Romanian Jewish family.  As I know, he started studying arts in Romania, later he moved to Paris to continue his studies. Reuven Rubin’s first art show was performed in New – York. When the First World War began he came back to Romania, from where he emigrated to Mandate Palestine in 1922. He has met his wife Ester aboard. When the war ended, Reuven Rubin was sent to Romania as an ambassador of Israel’s state.

Reuven Rubin died famous and successful in the age of eighty in 1974. But this is only for a small biography background. The main thing of his life was art, art which was directed on seeking the new spiritual and moral values of Israel and its citizens. The painter came to the Mandate Palestine at the perfect time, because those values just started to form in people’s minds and Reuven Rubin was one of the first, if not just the first painter, who started helping people with completing their selves as inhabitants of the Holy Land, as Israelis. 

The most prioritized themes in his art that I’ve mentioned are:  the cult of women - mother, the beauty of the Holy Land’s nature, Torah, Bible and Jewish folklore subjects. Rubin's significance and contribution into Israeli – Jewish art can easily be compared to the famous Russian painter of 19th – 20th centuries – Ilya Repin.

 Ilya Repin is one of the most famous Russian painters. He was born in 1844 in the city of Har’kov – territory of nowadays Ukraine. He died in 1930 in Finland at the age of 64.I can boldly declare that Repin is one of the most significant and best painters in the whole of Russian visual arts history. He is well – known as a great painter, master of portrait and real – life genre. He also has lots of amazing historical scenes paintings.

Ilya Repin was one of the leaders of the locomotioners group. Artists – members of the group - were traveling around territories of Russian Empire with exhibitions that were shown to villagers, inhabitants of small towns, peasants – to those, who couldn’t afford visiting exhibitions in Moscow or St. Petersburg.   

As I see, their main art – idea lied in representing realties, beauties and tragic beginnings of Russian land and its residents, to the elite – intelligentsia society living in big cities all around the Russian Empire.

That is how an great Israeli artist can be compared to the Russian brush – master Ilya Repin – love to your country and an ambition of passing this feeling to the others.
In the end I've made the conclusion that Israeli art is in much influenced by women, by the surrounding beauties of nature, food, architecture and more. At least those are the art - credos of Reuven Rubin. Those elements are partly forming Israeli philosophy of an art.

Kirill Pashkov
Tel – Aviv.