Page 324 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Genre: shtetl

Polish worker’s cap, and his overcoat is folded back at one
corner—AR’s device conveying exposure to the elements.
Curiously, the man’s legs are barely incised, despite their
importance for his livelihood; but lower extremities were rarely
as important as the head in AR’s idiosyncratic representations
of the human form.

149 Bust of a man praying
Wood
6.25” x 3”
Inscription: A.R. (on back)

43 Bust of a man praying *
Wood
17” x 7”
Inscriptions:

Know before whom you stand (Hebrew, on band of tallit
above face and yarmulke; a phrase often appearing on the ark
containing Torah scrolls in synagogues.)

Where God lives [.?.] wants you to whisper pure prayers
(Hebrew, loosely translated, on the edges of the kittel and
below it)

Abraham (Hebrew, on fold of tallit on left shoulder)

For all his skepticism and anticlericalism, AR retained a
profound respect for the faith in which he had been raised. His
own ultimate religious beliefs may not be clear from his words
or actions, but this piece of sculpture, probably his finest,
radiates a psychological aura which can best be described as
spiritual. AR chiseled his name on it in large letters in plain
view; nowhere else did he sign his work so proudly and
prominently. He must have realized that the effort and care he
had put into its production had resulted in a masterpiece.

Its impact is achieved by a synthesis of physical power and
metaphysical sublimity: the man’s head is massive, his nose
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