Following on from The Day of Atonement (1919), The Philosopher marks one of
Kramer’s most radical and complete, post-First World War visual experiments. Drawing
on ways of dividing up the picture surface through contemporary modernist influences,
such as Cubism, Vorticism, and Futurism, Kramer uses a dramatic monochrome palette
to create a flattened, geometric and rhythmical image, where subject and background
fuse together in a cohesive yet faceted whole. The subject, however, remains highly
traditional – a figure leaning over books in furrowed concentration – may draw on
Kramer’s memories of his own father, Max Kramer, who had died in 1916, engaged in
Talmudic study at home. As an observant Orthodox Jew from the Russian Pale of
Settlement, Max’s written languages were Yiddish and Russian. The enlarged and
simplified hands share an affinity with Mark Gertler’s Rabbi and Rebbitzin (Ben Uri
Collection), while mask-like features appear in several of Kramer’s works at this time,
such as Day of Atonement (1919, Leeds Art Gallery) and Jews at Prayer (c. 1919, Tate).
They also echo a wider interest in tribal art, such as Picasso’s use of masks in paintings
like Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907). Kramer was also a collector of African tribal
pieces, some of which are now in the collections of Leeds Museums and Galleries.