Documenting History Through Art
$50.00
In this volume of paintings and sketches by Lithuanian-Israeli artist David Labkovski’s (1906-1991), the world of pre-World War II Jewish Vilna is brought back to life. In the 1920s and 1930s, this city, home to a magnificent Jewish community comprised of workers, merchants, scholars, artists, also housed a number of aid societies, academies of learning, and cultural institutions.
Labkovski survived the war in Europe and eventually settled in Israel, making his home in the artists’ colony in Sfat. The artist’s images of Vilna, painted years after the Holocaust, were created entirely from memory, for nothing else was left after the devastation that had been wrought upon this once vibrant, flourishing community. Each work reflects the city’s vibrancy and fullness, from stunning images of the Great Synagogue, to expressive oils of private homes. Through the art of David Labkovski, we can step back in time to a world that was, and in doing so, bear witness to history.
Labkovksi painted with oil on canvas or in the gouache method, a type of watercolor. He also used pen and ink for his sketches.
Labkovski survived the war in Europe and eventually settled in Israel, making his home in the artists’ colony in Sfat. The artist’s images of Vilna, painted years after the Holocaust, were created entirely from memory, for nothing else was left after the devastation that had been wrought upon this once vibrant, flourishing community. Each work reflects the city’s vibrancy and fullness, from stunning images of the Great Synagogue, to expressive oils of private homes. Through the art of David Labkovski, we can step back in time to a world that was, and in doing so, bear witness to history.
Labkovksi painted with oil on canvas or in the gouache method, a type of watercolor. He also used pen and ink for his sketches.
