The Fish Had No Legs: A Quorum Without A Prayer, A Shower Without Water (48" x 36")
Docent Guide
This interesting painting poses three questions, reminding the viewer of the three-part question posed to the Sphinx about Man. The fish in this painting has no legs because fish do not have legs (although some recent scientific investigation has shown that the first tetrapods are now seen as fishes with legs) and this fish, in particular, does not need them at all because it is dead. It is probably a symbol of the failure of the Catholic Church as epitomized by the legacy of Saint Peter, the First Pope and a reflection on the resistance of the Papacy of Pius XII to intercede for the Jews because of his fear of Communism. The "Quorum" or "minyan" in Hebrew refers to the ten men or Jews necessary for prayer to commence. This is the artist's reflection on the failure of Jewish faith systems during the Holocaust. The shower without water, however, is the trick of the Nazi perpetrators, who usually disguised gas chambers as showers and labeled them "Brausebad."
In this painting, the shower head can be seen in the upper right, over the quorum and the fish, as if all are in a gas chamber together. The ten men are barefooted and appear themselves as inmates.