Bezalel school
Encyclopedia
The Bezalel school was an art movement
in Palestine
in the late Ottoman and British Mandate periods. Named for the Bezalel Art School, predecessor of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design
, it has been described as "a fusion of 'oriental' art and Jugendstil."
The works of art created by the group contributed significantly to the creation of a distinctive Israeli national culture.
The founder of the school was Boris Schatz
, who left his position as head of the Royal Academy of Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria, to make aliyah 1906 and established an academy for Jewish arts in Jerusalem. The artists were Zionist immigrants from Europe and the Middle East, with all the psychological and social upheaval that this implies.The movement developed a distinctive style combining Biblical and Zionist subjects with art nouveau
, symbolism
and traditional Persian and Syrian artistry.
Like the British Arts and Crafts Movement
, Wiener Werkstätte
in Vienna, William Morris
firm in England, and Tiffany glass
Studios in New York, the Bezalel School produced decorative art objects in a wide range of materials: silver, leather, wood, brass and fabric. While the artists and designers were European-trained, the craftsmen who executed the works were often members of the Yemenite community, which had a long tradition of craftsmanship in precious metals, and began to make aliyah about 1880. Yemenite immigrants with their colorful traditional costumes were also frequent subjects of Bezalel School artists.
Leading members of the school were Boris Schatz
, E.M. Lilien, Ya'akov Stark, Meir Gur-Aryeh, Ze'ev Raban
, Jacob Eisenberg
, Jacob Steinhardt
, Shmuel Ben David
, and Hermann Struck
.
The artists produced not only paintings and etchings, but objects sold as Judaica and souvenirs. In 1915, the New York Times praised the “Exquisite examples of filigree work, copper inlay, carving in ivory and in wood,” in a touring exhibit.
In the metalwork Moorish patterns predominated, and the damascene work, in particular, showed both artistic feeling and skill in execution.
Art movement
An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a restricted period of time, or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defined within a number of years...
in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in the late Ottoman and British Mandate periods. Named for the Bezalel Art School, predecessor of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design
Bezalel Academy of Art and Design
Bezalel Academy of Art and Design is Israel's national school of art, founded in 1906 by Boris Schatz. It is named for the Biblical figure Bezalel, son of Uri , who was appointed by Moses to oversee the design and construction of the Tabernacle ....
, it has been described as "a fusion of 'oriental' art and Jugendstil."
Style and themes
The Bezalel school artists blended "varied strands of surroundings, tradition and innovation," in paintings and craft objects that invokes "biblical themes, Islamic design and European traditions," in their effort to "carve out a distinctive style of Jewish" art for the new nation they intended to build in the ancient Jewish homeland.The works of art created by the group contributed significantly to the creation of a distinctive Israeli national culture.
The founder of the school was Boris Schatz
Boris Schatz
Boris Schatz was a Lithuanian Jewish artist and sculptor who founded the Bezalel School in Jerusalem.-Biography:Boris Schatz was born in Varniai, Kaunas district, Lithuania, under the rule of the Russian Empire in 1867. His father, a teacher in a cheder , sent him to study in a yeshiva in...
, who left his position as head of the Royal Academy of Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria, to make aliyah 1906 and established an academy for Jewish arts in Jerusalem. The artists were Zionist immigrants from Europe and the Middle East, with all the psychological and social upheaval that this implies.The movement developed a distinctive style combining Biblical and Zionist subjects with art nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
, symbolism
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
and traditional Persian and Syrian artistry.
Like the British Arts and Crafts Movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
, Wiener Werkstätte
Wiener Werkstätte
Established in 1903, the Wiener Werkstätte was a production community of visual artists. The workshop brought together architects, artists and designers whose first commitment was to design art which would be accessible to everyone...
in Vienna, William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
firm in England, and Tiffany glass
Tiffany glass
Tiffany glass refers to the many and varied types of glass developed and produced from 1878 to 1933 at the Tiffany Studios, by Louis Comfort Tiffany....
Studios in New York, the Bezalel School produced decorative art objects in a wide range of materials: silver, leather, wood, brass and fabric. While the artists and designers were European-trained, the craftsmen who executed the works were often members of the Yemenite community, which had a long tradition of craftsmanship in precious metals, and began to make aliyah about 1880. Yemenite immigrants with their colorful traditional costumes were also frequent subjects of Bezalel School artists.
Leading members of the school were Boris Schatz
Boris Schatz
Boris Schatz was a Lithuanian Jewish artist and sculptor who founded the Bezalel School in Jerusalem.-Biography:Boris Schatz was born in Varniai, Kaunas district, Lithuania, under the rule of the Russian Empire in 1867. His father, a teacher in a cheder , sent him to study in a yeshiva in...
, E.M. Lilien, Ya'akov Stark, Meir Gur-Aryeh, Ze'ev Raban
Ze'ev Raban
Ze’ev Raban was a leading painter, decorative artist, and industrial designer of the Bezalel school style, and was one of the founders of the Israeli art world.-Life:...
, Jacob Eisenberg
Jacob Eisenberg
Jacob Eisenberg was an Israeli artist and a member of the Bezalel school.Eisenberg was born in Pinsk and immigrated to the land of Israel in 1913...
, Jacob Steinhardt
Jacob Steinhardt
Jacob Steinhardt was an Israeli painter and woodcut artist.-Biography:Jacob Steinhardt was born in Żerków, Germany . He attended the School of Art in Berlin in 1906, then studied painting with Louis Corinth and engraving with Hermann Struck in 1907...
, Shmuel Ben David
Shmuel Ben David
Shmuel Ben David studied under Boris Schatz at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria. He immigrated to Jerusalem in 1906 when Schatz founded the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts. Ben David established and taught in the department of carpet design until 1912. -References:...
, and Hermann Struck
Hermann Struck
Hermann Struck was a German Jewish artist known for his etchings.Hermann Struck was born in Berlin. He studied at the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. In 1904, he joined the modern art movement known as the Berlin Secession.In 1900, Struck met Jozef Israëls, a Dutch artist, who became his mentor...
.
The artists produced not only paintings and etchings, but objects sold as Judaica and souvenirs. In 1915, the New York Times praised the “Exquisite examples of filigree work, copper inlay, carving in ivory and in wood,” in a touring exhibit.
In the metalwork Moorish patterns predominated, and the damascene work, in particular, showed both artistic feeling and skill in execution.
Further reading
- Gil Goldfine, “Zeev Raban and the Bezalel style,” Jerusalem Post , 12-14-2001
- The "Hebrew Style" of Bezalel, 1906-1929 Nurit Shilo Cohen The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts, Vol. 20. (1994), pp. 140-163
- Manor, Dalia, Art in Zion: The Genesis of National Art in Jewish Palestine, published by Routledge Curzon, 2005)
External Links
- Bezalel School at The Jewish Museum (New York)Jewish Museum (New York)The Jewish Museum of New York, an art museum and repository of cultural artifacts, is the leading Jewish museum in the United States. With over 26,000 objects, it contains the largest collection of art and Jewish culture outside of museums in Israel. The museum is housed at 1109 Fifth Avenue, in...
- Dalia Manor, “Biblical Zionism in Bezalel Art,” Israel Studies 6.1 (2001) 55-75