Anatoly Kaplan was the rare Jewish artist who managed to explore Jewish themes under the eyes of Soviet censors

My review of a wonderful art exhibit at Beit Avi Chai which appeared in the Fall 2023 Issue of Lubavitch International Magazine was recently posted to the web. The exhibit is called “The Enchanted Artist” and it was a the first major exhibit in Israel devoted to the artwork of Anatoly Kaplan, who according to the curators was “the only artist in the Soviet Union to put Jewish culture at the forefront of his work and to be recognized by the Soviet regime despite that.” Kaplan’s paintings are remarkable for how nimbly they incorporate Jewish themes while evading the Soviet censors, and they are also simply remarkable in their own right. It was a pleasure to learn more about Kaplan and also think about how the pressures that weighed upon Kaplan also drove the evolution of Chabad Lubavitch itself: “In a sense, Chabad’s collective memory and ethos were forged in the crucible of communism, in the midst of immense hardship that led to heroism—the sheer difficulty of Jewish observance driving home its precious necessity.”

“In a gray, dimly lit room, a mother ties a red kerchief atop her daughter’s school dress. Behind them, even more deeply in shadow, sits a bearded man wrapped in a traditional black and white tallit, bent over a prayerbook. 

The scene seems innocent enough, and yet, small details hint to the influence of powerful forces beyond the domestic sphere: The red kerchief was an obligatory symbol of membership in the Communist youth movement. The religious man is surrounded by two red curtains, which both serve to frame his figure and also suggest that he may need to hide at a moment’s notice. Even in 1976, when this painting was created by Russian-Jewish artist Anatoly Kaplan, it was nearly impossible to be an observant Jew in the Soviet Union. Like much of Kaplan’s work, Interior draws us into a world of tensions, memories, and contradictions inherent in the experience of Jews in Communist Russia.”

Read the full article at Lubavitch.com.