Nachum Gutman

Abraham and the three Angels, Oil on canvas, 81X60 cm. Signed. The choice of the approximate date 1970 is based on the special structure of the painting – reverberating the composition of a mosaic Gutman created in 1966 in memory of the Herzlia Gymnasium. The meaning by a mosaic is to the different sized colored rectangles interweaving together, kind of like multiple paintings within one big painting. The subject of the angels’ visit, on which they give promise of the birth of the son (the Israelite version to the myth of the Gospel) has often been dealt with in Israeli art due to its national context and is known in particular in Aharon Kahana’s paintings from the 1950s. By the time Guttmann started dealing with this subject he became obligated to, and already is in his seventies, it was after many years of artistic experience. That experience included his friendly and cheerful temperament and his tendency to “decorate”, which was intensified during the last few decades of his life. Now, he even dared to ”sin” with the fusion of abstraction and figurativism. In Genesis 18:1, the text tells us that Abraham, living in Elonei Mamre near Hebron, is ”sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.” There is the place ”three men” arrive and are later invited in by Abraham: ”Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.” According to ancient folk tradition this tree was an oak, one of those holy oaks known in the Middle East. The story of the oak of Abraham first appeares in the book Antiquities of the Jews by Yosef ben Matityahu (Flavius Josephus), who wrote: ”Now Abraham dwelt near the oak called Ogyges and was uneasy at his wife’s barrenness…”. The same Ogyges, said ben Matityahu, was an enormous oak, under which Abraham hosted the three angels. It was later on, in the Middle Ages, that the pilgrim Petachiah of Regensburg said that an enormous olive tree was the tree of Elonei Mamre, and even later than that – pilgrims that said it was actually a Tamarisk tree. However, it is very difficult to identify an almost desert like view and extremely hot temperature in this painting. But it is very easy to identify the monumental role that Guttmann assigned to the holy oak tree, under which appear the white and enigmatic angels (like three containers somewhat echoing Kahana’s figures). In front of them stands Abraham (wearing a cloak and a yarmulke) standing next to the refreshments on the carpet. Small people under a big tree – this is a familiar combination to us since the drawing of Palmachniks Resting Under a Tree, 1948. Look carefully at this tree: see the abundance of its blossom, the birds flying above it, celebrating on its branches. This huge, blooming, heartwarming tree insures the future of the promised son and the future of the entire Jewish people. Add the left rectangle with the plentiful pomegranate and the two rectangles with the tiny figures, raising their arms to the heavens (in a prayer to give thanks to God?) – and don’t forget about the pleasant shades of pink and light-blue – and there you have it: another joyful painting by Nachum Gutman. Another chapter in a Mediterranean celebration combined with the joy of the divine promise to increase the seed of old Abraham. If it had not been for that visit, we would not be having this auction… Gideon Ofrat

Estimated price: $35,000 - $50,000

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About: Nachum Gutman

Nachum Gutman is one of the most important artist, illustrator and children's book author in the history of Israel, Israel prize winner for children's literature. Born in 1878 in Serbia, he immigrated to Israel at the age of 7 with his family and spent his childhood years in Jaffa and Neve Tsedek, places that highly influenced his art work. At the age of 15 he began studying art in school and then in Bezalel in Jerusalem. After WWI he travelled to Europe and lived in Vienna, Paris, Rome and Berlin. In 1926 he returned to Israel and resided in Tel Aviv, and together with Reuven Rubin, Tsion Tajar and Israel Paldi, was considered among the pioneers of the Israeli style. Most of the artists in the 1920's portrayed and ideal relationship between Jews and Arabs: sitting in cafes, riding in the vineyards and resting and having a picnic. Gutman, who grew up in Jaffa frequently painted the orchards of Neve Tsedek. The orchards at that time were mainly owned by Arabs and symbolized the East which Gutman was drawn to and curious about. His attraction to the East was portrayed with insinuations of power, passion and sexuality in his paintings from the 1920's. Gidon Ofrat: "in 1926 the land of Israel had already known the falling of Trumpeldor and his peers, the murder of Brenner and the assassinations in Tel Aviv. But Gutman, similarly to other Israeli artists of the time, refused to see the Arbs as enemies and even more so, on the contrary – they idealized and elevated them in their paintings. Enter the pogroms of Tarpat. Until that catastrophe in Hebron and other cities – the celebration of Arabs did not come to an end in local art and especially in Gutman's paintings. In the 1930's, Gutman and other local artists frequented Paris and the naïve-orientalist style came to its end. Color tones became dark and the Israeli landscape turned a French grey and other dark colors like the art of Cezanne and Matisse. In the 1950's Gutman painted many depictions of the promenade in Tiberias, with its fishermen and locals, the landscape became blue and the motif of ships repeated in his paintings. Even in later years, Gutman would fondly reminisce the good old days in Jaffa, Neve Tsedek and Tel Aviv. Jaffa again became harmonious and friendly: depictions of horsemen and carriages in the streets, friendly watermelon vendors and bright and colorful tones depict the nostalgic legend. Gutman wrote and illustrated dozens of books, won the Dizengoff prize for painting in 1938, beloved citizen of Tel Aviv (1976), and Israel prize for children's literature in 1978. In the 1950's his paintings were exhibited in major museums around the world. He also painted murals and created mosaics which adorn the city of Tel Aviv. Gutman, who died at the age of 82 was one of the most prominent and loved Israeli artist.