On the Eve of the Sabbath 1957 - 1961

Anatoli Lvovich Kaplan made this drawing, On the Eve of the Sabbath, with dark, scribbly marks, creating a world of shadowy textures. I imagine him hunched over the paper, the charcoal or crayon scratching and building up this dense atmosphere. It’s a domestic scene, lit by candlelight, and a woman seems to be praying over the table. What I love about the drawing is that the physical marks feel like a direct translation of feeling. I imagine Kaplan thinking about the quiet anticipation of the Sabbath, the solemnity and the warmth, and he’s translating those feelings into this network of marks. Look how the light flickers on the tablecloth, created with a flurry of short, broken lines. It almost trembles with life. Painters are always looking at other painters, borrowing and transforming what they see. Like Chaim Soutine, Kaplan is using the materiality of the medium to evoke a mood, to tap into something primal and deeply felt. We too can use painting to explore our feelings, to embody thoughts, and to express what cannot be said in words.