Antokolsky's 'Spinoza' sculpture

 

Mark Antokolsky 1881/2, 'Spinoza', sculpture in marble exhibited in the Russian Museum

Photographic source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MAntokolosky_Spinoza.JPG#/media/File:MAntokolosky_Spinoza.JPG

I found this amazing sculpture by Mordechai (Mark) Antokolsky in my book on Jewish art[1] which I discovered in a charity shop. So I found an image of it on the internet to post here.

In this marble sculpture made in 1881, Antokolsky has depicted Spinoza in a thinking, working mood with a manuscript lying open at his feet and a manuscript on his lap. Perhaps he’s thinking whether he can afford to publish his controversial Ethics? Is that his unfinished TP on his lap? Who knows, but the sculpture invites the viewer to examine Spinoza’s pose and ask questions about his possible inner thoughts and feelings because Antokolsky was well-known for his style of bringing out the psychological[2] complexities of those he sculpted.  

Antokolsky started from poor beginnings learning to be a gold lacer, engraver and woodcarver before entering St Petersburg Academy[3]. He became a sculptor of Jewish subjects before progressing to sculpting enormous statues of Russian czars which brought him fame[4]. Nevertheless, even then, he had to suffer anti-Semitic attacks, including on his non-Jewish works, in the form of derogatory articles[5]. He then returned to Jewish-themed works and it was during this period he did this sculpture of Spinoza. Antokolsky (1843-1902) was a Lithuanian Jewish sculptor. He is considered the first Jewish sculptor coming to prominence during the 19^th century Jewish emancipation from ghetto life[6] which, interestingly enough, was not the situation in the Netherlands where Jews lived in a Jewish quarter (where Jews and non-Jews could travel in and out freely) not a ghetto[7]. Rembrandt is one such example of a non-Jew who lived and worked in a Jewish quarter and enjoyed Jewish culture, gaining inspiration from it for his artistic works[8].

Antokolsky had a dual identity being both Lithuanian (which meant he was Russian because Lithuania was a province of Russia at that time) and Jewish and explored both identities as themes in his works[9]. I wonder whether Antokolsky identified with Spinoza also having a dual identity (Dutch and Jewish). Although, arguably, Spinoza had multiple identities because his family came from Portugal and Portuguese was his first language but several generations back his family came from Spain and Spinoza also knew Spanish. So Spinoza, strictly speaking, is Dutch-Sephardi Jewish-Portuguese-Spanish. This, I think, is relevant to the present political world climate of nationalism as well as an increasing tendency to mistake trans-culturalism and explorations of the culture of previous generations in your family as potentially being cultural appropriation. I’ve noticed how, today, many are suddenly claiming and emphasising that people should have only one identity, yet, in truth, most people have multiple identities that are an essential part of who they are and this should be respected by others. Nobody should feel they have to hide and suppress/repress an aspect of their total identity for fear of being discriminated against and condemned. The issue of having and celebrating multiple identities is one that the musician Daniel Barenboim feels passionately about, as do I. This multiple identity of Spinoza is something I attempt to bring out in my research and interpretation of Spinoza’s writings.

So what I particularly love about this statue is that it makes the viewer connect with Spinoza as a person, mainly due to his pose and expression which conveys a gentle, thinking manner, which is how I see him. The manuscripts on his lap and at his feet remind us of Spinoza’s philosophical writings. It also reminds us of Spinoza’s Jewishness and struggle for his Jewish identity through political turmoil over generations of his family’s history because Antokolsky created this statue during his second Jewish-themed artistic period when he himself was reflecting on a changing political climate in various countries which was producing a rise in anti-Semitism, causing many Jews, including himself, to leave their homeland in search of a more welcoming country[10].

Have fun connecting with and interpreting this art work for yourselves and, if you feel moved to, let me know in comments below what you think of this statue of Spinoza.

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[1] O. N. Mazar, ed., The International Hebrew Heritage Library: Great Jews in Art, vol. III (Miami, Florida, USA: Lamplight Publishing. International Book Corporation, 1969).

[2] No author given, Fine Art Auctioneers, Hammersite, n/d, http://www.hammersite.com/RequestBid/10823.aspx.

[3] Mazar, The International Hebrew Heritage Library: Great Jews in Art, III:12.

[4] Mazar, III:12–14.

[5] Mazar, III:14.

[6] Mazar, III:12.

[7] D. Shyovitz, “The Netherlands (Holland) Virtual Jewish History Tour,” Jewish Virtual Library (Jewish Virtual Library, project of AICE, n/d), http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-netherlands-virtual-jewish-history-tour.

[8] Shyovitz.

[9] Mazar, The International Hebrew Heritage Library: Great Jews in Art, III:12–14.

[10] Mazar, III:12–14.