The King and the Emperor

I painted this painting inspired by the story told by Rabbi Nachman of Breslav – the story of “The King and the Emperor”. 

Tales are a source of inspiration for many of my paintings. Within every story there are many secrets and clues about the essence of life, about the existence of the soul in this world and the next world. 

Rabbi Nachman of Breslav said that there are stories that help us sleep, but his tales are stories that awaken readers from their sleep (and his intention was of course that they awaken for the truth).

So the sea in my painting implies a world of truth – the next world, “Light blue is like the sea, a sea is like the sky.” 

The trees are the saints on which we hang on and cling to them in times of distress. The ship (in the story of the ship) is a parable of the body and the deck is a parable of the soul in this world.

Technic: Oil On Canvas
Original Size: 80×60 cm