Reuven Rubin

Presumed to be acquired from the artist, late 1920s - early 1930s
Thence by descent

Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Dreamland: Reuven Rubin's Encounter with the Land of Israel in His Paintings of the 1920s and 1930s, 2006-2007, no. 65, p. 135, illustrated in color in the exhibition catalogue

This work on canvas has been lined and retouched. It looks attractive to the naked eye and could be hung in its current condition. Under ultraviolet light, retouches can be seen around the extreme edges addressing some old frame abrasion and probably some small losses caused in lining. There may be small tack holes across the top edge; the artist may have had the work stretched slightly smaller and extended it to allow for more sky above the mountain in the composition. Other than the retouches around the edges, there are a few tiny dots in the sky, along the bend in the road and in a horizontal line above the tree in the lower right corner. The above condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In Threshing in the Galilee, as in the previous work offered from this important private collection (see lot 11), Rubin incorporates figures and landscape in his signature naïve style from the 1920s. His composition, flat and balanced, a modernist take on a Byzantine painting, elevates landscape to altarpiece. Farming, herding and harvesting are venerated in Rubin’s celebration of Eretz, Israel. In the distant hills, the architecture reflects the different people living on and working the land: the white, domed houses of the Arab village and the red-shingled roofs of the European immigrants. Rubin’s palette celebrates variety in the luminous landscape: bright budding grapevines, yellow grass hills, dark cypress trees, and pale-leaved ancient olives. Humans are integrated into the pastoral scene as much as their animal and plant counterparts. Small in scale, faces devoid of detail, the figures here work the earth and rest upon it, more of the landscape than in it. “Rubin frequently integrated figures of local inhabitants and animals into his landscapes, as if longing for what he perceived as their Oriental innocence.” (Carmela Rubin, Reuven Rubin, Dreamland, Tel Aviv, 2006, p. 229)

The pastoral scenery, ripe with possibility, that Rubin encountered upon his move to Eretz, Israel deeply affected the artist and his work. "Here in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Tiberias I feel myself reborn. Only here do I feel that life and nature are mine. The grey clouds of Europe have disappeared. My sufferings and the war too are ended. All is sunshine, clear light and happy creative work. As the desert revives and blooms under the hands of the pioneers, so do I feel awakening in me all the latent energies...I have pitched my tent on these ancient hills and my desire to tie together the ends of the thread that history has broken." (Reuven Rubin, Rubin, My Life, My Art, New York, n.d., p. 162)