New book, exhibit aim to show true size of artist Anna Ticho
Comparing the Israel Prize winner to Rembrandt and da Vinci, curator-editor says there’s a ‘kind of aura around her work’
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
A new large-format book about Anna Ticho, a painter celebrated for her floral still-lifes and dusty Jerusalem landscapes, aims to elevate the Moravian-born artist.
“I thought we needed a book to show her as a serious artist,” said Timna Seligman, who edited “Anna Ticho: Lifescape” and has been the curator of Ticho House, a small gem of a museum in downtown Jerusalem, for the last 15 years. “The more I look at her work, as a technician, she is a master. She really stands on the level of the best artists throughout history. We need not be ashamed to say it.”
The book launch coincides with the current exhibition at Ticho House through March 8. The exhibit, also called “Lifescape,” displays 70 years of work from Anna Ticho’s teen years in Vienna to her decades of work in Jerusalem.
The 150-page book by Seligman, which is in English and Hebrew, includes more than 100 full-color images of Ticho’s work as well as in-depth text that presents Ticho’s biography and an analysis of her art. There are also entries about some of her major works written by curators at the Israel Museum. The Ticho House is a satellite gallery of the Israel Museum, opened in 1984 after the artist’s death.
The book, a project that had been on Seligman’s wish list for many years, took three years to produce, with the financial support of Abraham D. Sofaer and Marian Scheuer Sofaer, she said.
Seligman, an art historian, began thinking about writing the volume when she became curator of the museum, which is housed where Ticho and her husband, ophthalmologist Avraham Albert Ticho, lived for many decades.
“It took me a few years until I felt comfortable enough with the material and could really edit a book of this nature,” said Seligman. “When Ticho House was restored and renewed four years ago, that made it apparent that I needed to work on this.”
After so many years of familiarity with Ticho’s work, Seligman said she now views Ticho as a master technician and draftswoman known for her precise, exact technique that can be compared to masters such as Rembrandt van Rijn and Leonardo da Vinci.
“Her technique in drawing is of that level, and her observation is of that level,” said Seligman. “Her control over the material, whether in pencil or charcoal, is there, and it’s her empathy for the subject matter that is also apparent.”
Ticho studied drawing in Vienna before emigrating to Israel. She worked as an artist for many years, exhibiting her works worldwide and winning the Israel Prize in 1980 for painting.
There was a “kind of aura around her work,” said Seligman. “That’s actually what made her highly respected, not only by amateur art lovers but also by professionals. Everyone was able to see this.”
And yet, after Ticho died in 1980, her works were better known in Israel than abroad. Seligman hopes to make Ticho an international name.
Watercolor and graphite on paper (Courtesy Israel Museum)
“We’ve come to expect the flowers in the vase in every hospital corridor and government office,” said Seligman, referring to the popular poster-size replicas of Ticho’s works that have become ubiquitous throughout Israel.
With the new exhibition, said Seligman, viewers can see the originals in their actual size, which dwarf the familiar replicas.
“The digital files are nothing compared to what the paintings really look like,” said Seligman. “These large, pastel drawings from the studio are her memories from the field. Now you can see the originals and the size of them.”
