The oil painting (1) is a visualization of the Ethics, with Spinoza's stance on emotions, nature, God, etc. It also contains details from Spinoza's life, his break with religion and his community in the light of the political situation at the time, the ban, his alienation, and his raising above his society. A detailed description can be found here: https://www.academia.edu/38775582/Spinozas_Ethics_in_a_painting_of_Shoshannah_Brombacher.

Also see my other articles about art and Spinoza at: https://absolutearts.academia.edu/Brombacher, like the pastel drawing (2) which shows Spinoza's ideas about God, see: https://www.academia.edu/11539676/Spinozas_Deus_Sive_Natura_visualized_in_a_pastel_drawing.

Most works are not in my possession anymore, one is in Germany, the other in New Zealand, but I am planning to make other work about Spinoza in this style.

“Art makes the world within visible. My art is a tribute to music and to our heritage, especially the Chassidic world. The Kotzker Rebbe once listened to a story-teller in the street talking about the Baal Shem Tov and stated, “He told what he wanted and I heard what I needed”. That is art. Art connects people!”

Shoshannah Brombacher (Amsterdam, Holland 1959) studied Semitic Languages, and Codicology at the University of Leyden (Holland), and specialized in medieval Sephardic Hebrew poetry with a Ph.D. thesis about the Portuguese (Marano) Jewish Community in the seventeenth century in Amsterdam. She participated in codicological projects in Amsterdam, Jerusalem and Germany, and lectured at the Free University of Berlin, Germany. She attended some art classes in Leyden and at the Free Art Academy of The Hague, but considers herself mainly self taught and sees her academic background and extensive traveling as an invaluable tool for her paintings, which delve deeply into Jewish lore and legends. After her marriage she moved to New York and devotes all her time to art, writing, and her family. She is an author, lecturer and maggidah (ordained Jewish preacher, story teller and spiritual guide) and painter. Her main interest is Chassidism. Brombacher’s favorite medium is oil, pastel, crayons and/or ink for small miniatures as well as large wall panels or murals, like “Venice in Crown Heights,” and a sukkah. Calligraphy, text, letters and colors play an important role. Brombacher’s subjects are mainly Jewish life, holidays and (Chassidic) tales, classical music, travel impressions and illustrating poetry and stories. Sets she created include The Golem of Prague; The Tikkun of the Breslover Rebbe; the Twelve Tribes; Goethe’s Faust; poetry; the Haggadah; the Hebrew Aleph-Beth; classical composers (Beethoven et al.); cities, like Prague and New York, The Dybbuk, and politically inspired poetry (e.g., Nazim Hikmet Ran). Brombacher creates custom art, like ketubot, verses of a name, tikkunim, etc. She is currently working on a project (paintings and a book) about Sicily in the time of the medieval kabbalist Avraham Abulafia.

Brombacher participated in many international exhibitions (group and solo), and curated. Her work features in blogs, websites (e.g., chabad.org), films, book/CD covers, and children’s games. She is a member of several art organizations and the vice president of the American Guild of Judaic Art. Shoshannah Brombacher is internationally recognized and was awarded several prizes for her work, which is represented in Europe, the USA, Israel, South Africa, Egypt, New Zealand and South America in museums and private collections, synagogues, yeshivot, hospices, corporations, and private institutions. Many works were commissioned.

For more information visit the website of the artist, or contact her (preferably through her email):

e-mail: shoshbm@gmail.com Tel.: 718- 339 2779

Website: www.absolutearts.com/s/portfolios/shoshannah

Facebook: Shoshannah Brombacher