Attributed to Zalman Kleinman, Israeli, Russian, 1933 to 1995, oil painting on canvas depicting an elder Jewish musician man playing a cello. Signed lower right. Circa the late 20th century. Framed. Zalman Kleinman was a Russia born Israeli artist. At the age of 13, Kleinman left the USSR for France, then was living in Israel and finally moved to the United States. Kleinman illustrated books and magazines while developing a reputation as a painter. One of a kind artwork.
Zalman Kleinman, oil on canvas painting depiction a old Jewish man sitting at the table. Signed by the artist lower left. Circa the late 20th century. Framed. Zalman Kleinman, 1933 to 1995, was a Russia born Israeli artist. At the age of 13, Kleinman left the USSR for France, then was living in Israel and finally moved to the United States. Kleinman illustrated books and magazines while developing a reputation as a painter. American Judaica Paintings For Collectors.
Zalman Kleinman (1933-1995), "From Chaslavitch to Lubavitch". [Crown Heights, Brooklyn NY], 1983. Oil on canvas. Signed in Hebrew and English ("זלמן קליימן" / "Z. Kleiman"), titled and dated. Approx. 205.5X129.5 cm. Good condition. This painting, which is one of the most famous works of the Chassidic artist Zalman Kleinman, portrays a group of ten Chassidim from Chaslavitch (Khislavichi) in a horse-drawn wagon, flying in the air, making their way to their rebbe in Lubavitch. Reproductions of this painting were printed, and are still being printed in countless books and publications, and decorate various Judaica items. This painting is often perceived as depicting the miraculous trips of the Baal Shem Tov. The name of the painting, "From Chaslavitch to Lubavitch", is also the name of a Chabad folk song in Yiddish, occasionally sung at Chassidic farbrengens (gatherings). The song describes a Chabad Chassid setting out from his home in Chaslavitch and travelling to his rebbe in Lubavitch, despite the pleas of his wife and children, and regardless of his poverty and the difficulties of travelling. He is impeded in his journey by many obstacles, due to the overwhelmingly Mitnaged population of his hometown, Chaslavitch. The rabbis and most of the townspeople of Chaslavitch were Mitnagdim, and only a small minority belonged to the Chassidic sect. Chaslavitch, Amtchislav (Mstsislaw) and Cherikov (Cherykaw) were enclaves of Mitnagdim in a predominantly Chassidic region, and were dubbed "the dark canton" (Torat Shalom by the Rashab, p. 227). The Chassid R. Zalman Zusia Kleinman (1933-1995) produced talented portrayals of Chassidic life, and his works adorn the homes of many Chabad Chassidim in Eretz Israel and worldwide. His paintings reflect the spirit of Chabad Chassidut – prayer, study of Chassidut, Chassidic farbrengen, travelling to the rebbe, and more; and include themes of Chassidic joy and humor. In a letter from 9 Elul 1957 (Igeret 5721), the Lubavitcher rebbe suggested to R. Zalman to publish an album of drawings depicting life in Kfar Chabad, and even promised to provide funding for the project. The rebbe instructed him to draw "without embellishment and even without artistic embellishment… The main point… is that the illustrations appear in their simplicity, as they actually are…". Upon the rebbe's instructions, R. Zalman documented Chassidic life of Kfar Chabad in its early days, in many paintings. Elder Chassidim of Kfar Chabad can still recognize in some of R. Zalman's painting the village as it was in the early 1950s, with its colorful personalities, its houses and shacks, and its muddy streets. R. Zalman's paintings also dealt with more general Jewish topics – scenes from the Torah and Passover Haggadah, Hachnassat Sefer Torah, Kiddush Levanah, Yom Kippur, and more. He also painted landscapes and portraits. His paintings are full of life and color, draw inspiration from day-to-day life, and faithfully document the environment in which he lived and operated. In her article "Zalman Kleinman, Brooklyn Realist" (in the book "Zalman Kleinman, Paintings", which features 102 of R. Zalman's paintings), the curator Dr. Cissy Grossman describes R. Zalman's unique style: "Jewish painters from Europe and America have expressed Jewish life largely in nostalgic formulations. In 19th century Germany, Moritz Oppenheim painted scenes of Jews celebrating Succot, preparing for a bar-mitzvah and sitting at a Passover seder. His scenes were of a bygone lifestyle that he depicted in order to record the past and to lend dignity to the history of assimilated, bourgeois German Jews. The Polish Jewish artist Maurycy Gottlieb, who came out of the Haskalah movement of intellectual enlightenment, was trained in major art schools in Vienna and Rome and expressed his Jewishness in his depiction of Biblical scenes. He expressed his personal Jewish world in portraits of his family. More regional Polish Jewish painters, such as Samuel Hirszenberg, painted Jews as dignified beggars in the small streets of the ghetto, or in mythic groups of mourners and refugees. In 20th century New York City, Ben-Zion painted women blessing the Sabbath candles as sentimental recollections of a life left behind by the waves of immigrants who escaped the pogroms of the shtetls of Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and sought out the fabled gold streets of America. Many of those immigrants associated religion with their oppressed life and became socialists and secularists. Marc Chagall, the world famous painter of the School of Paris, painted many beautiful, fantastic images located in his hometown of Vitebsk. He painted them as dream landscapes when he was far away in Paris and New York. Zalman Kleinman is one of the few Jewish painters who paints the Jewish world he inhabits". Provenance: Stern Family Collection. Purchased directly from the artist in the 1980s. This item will be available for viewing at University Archives, Wilton, Connecticut, and at the Stern family's house, Scarsdale, NY, by appointment through Kedem. R. Zalman Kleinman was born in Leningrad, Russia, to his mother Rivka, from Minsk, Belarus, and father R. Yaakov, from Warsaw, who immigrated to Russia during WWI together with his mother and younger sister Ita. During WWII, R. Zalman's grandmother and parents perished in the severe famine which reigned in German-besieged Leningrad. Zalman and his sisters were sent to public orphanages. After much efforts, their aunt Ita succeeded in bringing them over to her in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to the home of her father-in-law R. Nachum Shemaryah Sasonkin (previously rabbi of Batumi, Georgia). The Sasonkin family left Russia in 1947, together with the Kleinman children. They lived in Paris for a short period, and in December 1949, they immigrated to Israel, where R. Zalman settled in Kfar Chabad and devoted himself to painting. In 1954, he enlisted in the IDF, serving in the military rabbinate. R. Zalman decorated synagogues in various army camps and worked as illustrator for the army weekly Machanayim. Upon completing his army service, he went to study art in Paris, and after his marriage to Mrs. Rosa Neuhaus, they settled in Crown Heights, Brooklyn NY. R. Zalman worked as illustrator for various publishing houses and for the Yiddish weekly Algemeiner Journal. His art was greatly influenced by the paintings of his colleague R. Hendel Lieberman (Futerfas), a Chabad Chassidic artist who also depicted Chassidic life in his paintings. Over the years, his works were exhibited in various exhibitions worldwide, including in the Brooklyn Museum. R. Zalman's works decorate various Chabad books and publications, including the covers of Sefer HaNigunim and the Nichoach tapes, covers of the musical albums Yiddishe Otzarot and Otzarot Yehudiim, the Otzar Sipurei Chabad series of books, the three parts of Sefer HaZichronot by the Rayatz and the three parts of Shemuot VeSippurim, and many other items. In her memoirs, Rachel Zamir describes her brother R. Zalman: "He was a righteous man, modest and shy. Zalman was a good, honest man, noble, with intellectual depth on all areas of life. He quietly busied himself painting, and serenely devoted his free time to Torah study. He never sought out fame or students… in his paintings he expressed his Chassidic emotion. His paintings were full of Jewish and Chassidic topics, such as devoted prayer, farbrengens, Yom Kippur prayers, Kiddush Levanah, joyous Chassidic dancing, Hachnassat Sefer Torah… his paintings made a profound impact on their viewers. They aroused longing and yearning for Judaism even in the hearts of Jews still distant from Judaism. His paintings are scattered in thousands of homes worldwide and in institutions.... His illustrations appear today in many books, which were distributed and sold in tens of thousands of copies" (Shlichut Chayai, pp. 115-116).
Chassidic Wedding, color lithograph circa 1975, numbered 132/275 and pencil-signed. Zalman Kleinman was born in Leningrad in 1933. Despite a childhood filled with war and anti-Semitism in politics, Kleinman's work is not filled with sadness or tragic recollections. Rather he sought to evoke the tenacity of the Chassidic culture that refused to succumb to hardships in communist Russia. After traveling to Israel, and studying in Paris, Kleinman settled in New York where he illustrated books & magazines while developing a reputation as a painter. Condition commensurate with age. Overall size: 23 1/2 x 20 in. Sight size: 18 x 13 1/2 in.
Artist: Zalman Kleinman, Russian (1933 - 1995) Title: The Wedding Year: circa 1975 Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 117/275 Size: 20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 60.96 cm)
Artist: Zalman Kleinman, Russian (1933 - 1995) Title: The Wedding Year: circa 1975 Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 117/275 Size: 20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 60.96 cm)
Torah Study. Oil on Canvas. 23 x 35.5 inches. Framed. n.d Russian-born Zalman Kleinman (1933-95) was a Chabad Chossid who expressed his Chassidic fervor by way of his art. Kleinman was encouraged to paint by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who stated, "Art adds another dimension of feeling to one’s spiritual commitment." See The Chassidic Art Institute Catalogue, Zalman Kleinman: Paintings (New York, 2001).
Chassidic Dance. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated by the artist in Hebrew lower right. Framed. 22 x 40 inches (55.9 x 101.6 cm). (Brooklyn), 1964 Russian-born Zalman Kleinman (1933-95) was a Chabad Chassid who expressed his Chassidic life-style through his art. He was greatly encouraged by his revered Rebbe to paint, who stated, "Art adds another dimension of feeling to one's spiritual commitment." See The Chassidic Art Institute Catalogue, Zalman Kleinman: Paintings (New York, 2001). Substantial works by Kleinman, such as the present canvas, are rare to appear for auction sale. This dramatic painting is particularly iconic.
A Mishnaic Tale. Pen-and-ink drawing. Unsigned. Framed. 12.5 x 10.5 inches. • This image was originally commissioned for use in the children's school text-book on Pirkei Avoth "Be'er Yehuda," but was later rejected due to the use of human faces and the commandment against graven images. Accompanied by documentation authenticating the artwork to have been executed by Kleinman. Russian-American, (1933-95).
Zalman Kleinman 1903-1995 (Israeli) Artist in the studio oil on canvas h:90 w: 97 cm. signed lower right Provenance: Moshe Bar-Yuda Collection, Tel Aviv.
