What is Naïve Art?
For many, the term “naïve art” conjures up the verdant valleys and happy hamlets of Anna Mary Robertson (”Grandma”) Moses, the luxuriant vegetation and exotic jungles of Henri Rousseau, and the palmy South Sea Isles and pristine Tahitian women of Paul Gauguin. Brazilians identify naïve art with the fascinatingly colorful figures of Ivonaldo, the folkloristic motifs of Rosina Becker do Valle and the insightful Biblical interpretations of Jose de Freitas. Eastern European naïve art is associated with the powerful village scenes of Ivan Generalic and the floral farmlands of Ivan Rabuzin. In Israel, we recall the rich Biblical scenes and Cabalistic imagery of the Safed zeigermacher (watchmaker), Shalom Moscovitz, lovingly known as “Shalom of Z’fat,” revel in the anachronistic phantasmagoria of Gabriel Cohen, and take delight in the brilliant compositions of Odessa by Yefim Ladizhinsky.