"I Was Drawn to the Verses of Psalms, and I Just Painted Them"

When I ask artist Ilana Tzamachoni how she is doing, she responds with melody and a metaphorical image: "The sun is shining, let us hope it always shines for us." A moment later, we begin our conversation, and I discover that this is Ilana's language—a picturesque and fascinating one—as painting is a part of her life in every sense.

She is not young. She is celebrating her 88th birthday these days, but the brush has never left her hand even in this period. "I've been creating for as long as I can remember," Ilana says. "I've been painting for over 50 years and have been writing poetry and prose for about 30 years, presented numerous solo exhibitions in Israel and worldwide, participated in group exhibitions, and been written about in various places."

Ilana was born in Haifa, and it remains her home city to this day, although there was a long period of about 40 years when she divided her life between Safed and Haifa. She spent several months each year in Safed, residing in the Artists' Quarter of the old city.

What drew you specifically to Safed?

"The spirituality of the city attracted me, as well as the mysticism it radiated. When I walked through the old city and visited the graves of the righteous and the synagogues, I felt a part of Jewish history. Artistically, I also connected to the city and the idea of an 'open-door gallery.' It was important for me to see the reactions of passersby to my works. I worked as they entered, visited, and commented. This spoke to me more than anything else."

Painting the Verses

The people interested in Ilana's paintings came from all walks of life, which is a very interesting fact, as she notes, because the paintings are very spiritual. "I painted the Book of Genesis and the Book of Lamentations, and I also painted verses from the Book of Job. Specifically, I loved painting verses from Ecclesiastes," she elaborates. "Of course, I didn't paint the figures mentioned there but the atmosphere and content. I always made sure to attach a verse to each painting, but I also emphasized to those visiting the gallery that each of them could see in the paintings a connection to other verses, as it all depends on the viewer's perspective."

But more than anything, Ilana identified with paintings inspired by the Book of Psalms. "When I painted the verses of Psalms, I mainly felt the mystery within them," she describes. "I connected deeply to the poetic nature of Psalms. I felt the verses were like musical compositions that played for me, and thus, my connection and relationship with the Creator were formed. For decades, I painted a different verse each time, according to my mood and feelings. I felt that this was the language in which I prayed and conversed with the Creator. Sometimes, I chose a verse related to my dialog with Hashem, sometimes to loneliness and alienation, each time a different verse."

To date, Ilana has created about 100 paintings of Psalms' verses, but she has never had the opportunity to present all of them together. Next month, she intends to do what she hasn't done in all these years and launch a special exhibit—"Exhibition of Psalms Paintings," which will be held at the Museum of Jewish Art, Heichal Shlomo, Jerusalem, and will be displayed throughout the coming month.

"I am presenting the exhibition both for people who understand and are interested in art, and for myself," she explains. "There is such unique beauty in the verses of Psalms, and mainly, there is great strength for the people of Israel—which is so urgently needed by us all, especially these days."