Aaron April’s watercolors are celebrated for their remarkable depth and luminosity, frequently featured in exhibitions alongside his commanding oil paintings. Defying the conventional notion that watercolors must be executed quickly, April often dedicated significant time to these works—sometimes even more than to his oils—allowing for an extraordinary richness and complexity. His status as a significant watercolorist was powerfully affirmed by his notable 2002 exhibition at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art.
Within this versatile medium, April explored an extensive range of subjects, including profound spiritual themes, evocative landscapes, and intricate allegorical compositions. He was particularly lauded for his seamless ability to blend figurative and abstract elements with precise tact, demonstrating a nuanced mastery unique to his vision. Critics consistently praise his exceptional skill in rendering light and subtle color nuances, observing how his watercolors convey an “internal light carried by the pigment itself” and the mesmerizing “melting desert colors.” This exquisite effect, achieved in watercolor, was often considered more refined than oil for capturing the delicate, almost ethereal luminosity of the southern Israeli landscape. Masterpieces like “On the Eve of Shabbat. Converging on the Wailing Wall” (1993) stand as prime examples, showcasing his “amazing precision” in depicting both architectural structures and intricate figures with breathtaking clarity.
Aaron April’s art frequently turned to the world around him, depicting everyday life in both his early Soviet years and his transformative Israeli period. These works often fall into a category of “quite realistic or relatively realistic works with understandable plot,” offering viewers a recognizable window into human experience.
In his Israeli period, April painted intimate “scenes of life,” such as “The Family,” “Expecting the Heir,” and “A House in Jerusalem.” His watercolor “Eve of Sabbath. Congregating at the Wailing Wall” (1993) stands out for its “amazing precision” in rendering both architectural details and numerous tiny figures, showcasing his meticulous eye for detail even amidst a bustling scene.
Looking back to his early days in the Soviet Union, April’s art was often described as “realist pictures.” He tackled subjects common to the “shestidesiatniks” (artists of the 1960s), including pieces like “In the New Lands,” “A Tractor Driver Having a Meal,” and “Fishermen of Narym.” Early Siberian landscapes, such as “‘After Work’ 1958-60,” “‘In the Tomsk Region’, 1959” (which had a “big resonance”), “‘Here We Shall Live’ 1961,” “Outskirts of the Village” (1958), and “Houses on the Tom River,” also hinted at human presence and activity despite their primary focus on nature.
While these early works embraced realism, Matti Fischer suggests April employed “subtle irony to realize a subjective mode” in his Siberian landscapes, implying they were never a purely straightforward imitation of reality. This early period was often associated with the “severe style” or “austere style” of the time, marked by a more muted palette. April himself recalled being told he painted only with “umber,” describing the earth in his early work as “gray-umber,” a stark contrast to the brilliant colors that would later define his Israeli art.
The year 1972 marked a “sharp turn” in April’s life and artistic trajectory with his move from the Soviet Union to Israel. He effectively had to “start… from zero” artistically. While he brought his strong professional training from the Surikov school, the intense Israeli light profoundly influenced his palette and approach. This dramatic shift led to the vibrant, expressive, and “unchained” colors seen in his later works, including those capturing the nuances of everyday life in his new homeland.
