Let Your Eyes Behold Your Masters

Written By: M. Narkis

To find Prof. Schatz at his work in the capacity of Sculptor is only possible at a late hour. Then he sits in his lighted Studio after the day’s hard work, forgets all his cares and works. All his day he devotes to “Bezalel” — it is only regrettable how much of his time he gives up for the sake of his “Bezalel” — but there are left to himself, the evenings and nights and he is then occupied untiringly on his own works of art.

To me, who am always found in the vicinity of Prof. Schatz at his work during the day, it is difficult at times to assure myself that beyond there sits that man broken by a multitude of cares and disappointments and works in spite of all disturbing elements, models portraits and paints pictures.

Often when I passed his Studio at a late hour I saw the light from his lamp gleaming through the windows. Once it was impossible for me to withhold myself from entering the Studio and see the artist happily at work with his skilful hands, sleeves upturned and moving deftly about with the soft plaster. A full line of portraits standing in a row, all day covered up, become animated with life at the approach of their master. I take up a position by the side of the Artist, note his great dexterity, at times just passing a remark as to the work, but I remain silent not to disturb.

Presently as if conscious of something the artist stops his work, rests a moment and then commences to speak to me. I express my pleasure to see him at work, the work of portraying — which requires such a great deal of concentration in order that the subject receives likeness and character and which by his deft hands he is able to impart easily like play. And he commences to relate to me, warmly, on his conception of portraying a line of famous men in Israel and his vow, telling me, “this I have vowed to fulfill when time allows me”. And he continues: “when I was yet a pupil, I was proud of the past history of my people and its great men of spirit and long ago I thought of taking portraits of the great men in Israel. How I was sorry that after many attempts I was not able to behold the countenances of our great men even if it were imaginatively”. “Amongst all the enlightened nations are popular the pictures of their famous men, only we, a great cultural people, the people of the Book and Holy writings cannot fulfill the great precept it has laid itself down...

“Let our eyes behold your Masters”

“Still more has it pained me, in the hour that I took to heart that with us are preserved every relic of holy writing, every autograph of a famous man is jealously kept with all details and memories put away in a prayer book or bible, but a picture we have not known how to keep. And what has made me make my vow was this incident: We were a band of young students, Choveve Zion. Our spiritual guide was Smolenskin. With him we were in regular correspondence and he imparted to us his wide knowledge. We were so attached to him and his family that when we heard of his death, although none of us knew him intimately, the sad news so affected us that we decided to acquire a colony in Erez Yisrael in his memory (Oh what childish innocence!). We decided for that purpose that I should make in my capacity as Sculptor, a model of Smolenskin, a great number of replicas and the profit from their sale be devoted for the object we had in view. We thereupon requested the family of the deceased for a photo of Smolenskin."

“How great was our sorrow in the hour when we received the picture, a badly taken photo, and on it Smolenskin appeared like a barber instead of a bard; Smolenskin whom we had respected so much!! We all understood that it was badly photographed and it destroyed the beautiful conception of our teacher. In that picture we beheld a person with a large moustache, thin beard and common appearance. I could not be made in my capacity to touch the picture. I felt an outrage as if the devil had laughed at us and then I took my vow to portray a whole line of notables I come across in the course of my life.”

“Before this, I saw Paintings of Jewish notables, but all these were so ridiculously caricatured that a cultured person cannot set bounds to his feelings of disgust to look at them. It was then that I made a picture of Anton Rubinstein and prior to that the picture of Graetz which somehow vanished from my possession, likewise others. And within all the means at my disposal in every place where I meet some notable I endeavor to fulfill my vow, and behold my work before you”.