Born and raised in Santiago, Mauricio Avayu decided a few years ago to try to expand his knowledge of Judaism while beginning a new phase of his artistic career. The result has reminded some experts of the work of the American painter Archie Rand. Jacob Kessler writes:
Avayu has seen his paintings—many of them Jewish-themed—shown in galleries around the globe, put on the walls in the homes of former presidents around the world and presented to Pope Francis. Today he’s working on his most ambitious project yet: capturing the key moments of the Torah in 40 large murals.
“Forty is a sacred number in Judaism,” Avayu told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Forty years in the desert, 40 days and nights to receive the Torah.”
He has already finished the eight murals that comprise his depiction of Genesis, the Torah’s first book. . . . Rather than be intimidated by the vastness of the text, Avayu said he was drawn to its many “hidden messages” and the variety of commentary available for every passage.
Before he sets out to paint a new work, Avayu not only consults his rabbi but also reads multiple biblical commentaries from scholars such as Rashi and Maimonides, and chooses the one that resonates most deeply. When he painted the tree in the Garden of Eden, for example, he consciously did not do what many other famous artists have done: depict the “forbidden fruit” as an apple. Some commentators posit that the fruit is an etrog, others a grape; Avayu prefers the interpretation that it was a fig.
Read more on JTA: https://www.jta.org/2023/12/19/global/a-chilean-jewish-artist-strives-to-capture-the-entire-torah-in-massive-murals