Language:
English
Pages:
Ill.
Year of publication:
2005
Titel der Quelle:
Ars Judaica : the Bar-Ilan journal of Jewish art
Publ. der Quelle:
Ramat-Gan
Angaben zur Quelle:
1 (2005), Seite 153 - 155
Abstract:
Clearly, this book is the fruit of many years of intensive scholarship and research. Malinowski writes that already in 1976, while collecting material for an exhibition of Expressionism in Polish art, he was struck by the great number of works created by Jewish artists. Deciding to pursue this topic further, he set himself some ambitious objectives. Not only does he analyze the creative work of particular artists, but he also explains more generally many subjects relating to Jewish figurative art. Indeed, the material collected here is quite representative: Malinowski discusses the work of more than two hundreds artists who were active from the second half of the nineteenth century up to World War II. The book is richly illustrated, and many of the items are in color. Jerzy Malinowski posits two criteria to define artists as Jewish: the national self-identification of the artist, and his or her involvement in the activity of Jewish cultural and artistic organizations. Following this approach, he eliminated artists "of Jewish origin, but assimilated" (p. 3) from his study. However, in due course the identification of an assimilated Jew changed. It is most important to bear in mind that this definition depended on the non-Jewish society, whose members accepted Jewish assimilation in accordance with their opinions. Moreover, such opinions were never constant. The author himself shows that Jewish artists were involved in the activity of Polish artistic circles and participated in international exhibitions as Polish artists. These statements weaken his definition. Malinowski's decision to classify all the Jewish artists discussed in the book as "Polish Jews" also seems to be disputable. For example, Boris Schatz hardly identified himself as a Polish Jew. As is well known, Zalman Baruch (Boris) Schatz was born into an Orthodox family in Lithuania. During the years that he spent at a yeshivah in Vilna, as well as during his short stay in Warsaw, he became deeply attracted to Zionist ideology. After Schatz, then still a young man, left Poland and eastern Europe, he did not reveal any interest in that region of Europe in his artistic work or publications.1 However, let us put aside our thoughts relating to the artists whom the author does not consider to be Jewish, or how he defines Polish Jews. Otherwise, we will have to raise once again the very difficult definition of "Who is a Jew" that can be discussed perpetually. My aim here is, first and foremost, to stress that the criteria followed by the author in his choice of the artists he includes demand revision, and that the definitions he set down in the beginning of the work should be verified thoroughly. In the brief introduction on Jewish themes in Polish art (pp. 6-7), the author justly establishes a clear distinction between representations of the Jew as the "other," somewhat exotic person, and the subjects treated by Jewish artists. In some cases, the Jewish artists chose motifs characteristic of the culture of their own people. Jewish artists seldom expressed their otherness in outward appearance, dress, and traditions, which so struck the Poles. Jews often were critical of manifestations of the traditional Jewish culture: they believed it was obsolete. Several Jewish artists became painters of what Jerzy Malinowski calls the "Jewish tradition." The author dedicates a separate chapter to them, introducing the reader to the vast scope of their artistic work (pp. 39-63). In addition to subjects that reflect influences of European Realist painting, these painters depicted traditional Jewish themes, e. g., Henryk Redlich's Scene in a Library, Edmund Perle's Shammes, Leopold Pilichowski's Sukkot and Yom Kippur, or representations of the same milieu by Jakub Weinles, Maurycy Minkowski, and Maurycy Gottlieb. This group of painters was also depicted tragic moments of Jewish history, such as Maurycy Minkowski's Victims of a Pogrom, After the Pogrom, and Wanderers, and also in Stanislaw Bender's Rescue of the Torah. The author emphasizes portraits of Jewish types such as Szymon Buchbinder's Praying Jew and Goldsmith, Stanislaw Heyman's Talmudist, and Adolf Behrman's Portrait of a Jew. The inclusion of portraits - that as a rule were commissioned by members of the Jewish bourgeoisie - in the group of works representing the "Jewish tradition" seems disputable. Commissions of this kind were common among both Poles and Jews, and the portraits were produced on demand rather than an expression of the artist's interest in Jewish subjects.2 The author not only justly emphasizes, but also illustrates with numerous examples, the fact that the artists of this group treated a broad range of subjects. Malinowski relates biographical information about each artist: education, ideology, social ties, and personalities who influenced them. In addition, the author lists the exhibitions in which he participated, and collections in which his works are found. These create a firm foundation for the study of the artist's personal contribution in the field. Each biography is accompanied by illustrations of the artist's works. The author introduces the reader to the Jewish artists' cultural milieu, dedicating a chapter to the vibrant circle of Jewish artists of Polish origin who lived and created in Berlin at the turn of the nineteenth century (pp. 125-43). He writes about their contacts with local - first and foremost Jewish - artists. The new influences yielded a more intensive search for a Jewish national style, and a turn to symbolism based on Jewish tradition. They also inspired the group of painters whom the author calls exponents of "pure art." In this chapter Malinowski discusses the artistic work of Ephraim Moses Lilien, convincingly stressing that artist's fascination with Zionist ideology that led to further development of the idea of a Jewish national style. To broaden the sources for this style, Lilien introduced into his works details of nature characteristic of contemporary Palestine. This occurred after Lilien's visits to Jerusalem, where he participated in the establishment of the Bezalel academy of arts, and thus was one of the few Jewish artists in Poland who had firsthand acquaintance with Erez Israel.3 Two subjects form the core of the book. The first is the genesis, ideology, and creative work of the "Young Yiddish" group (pp. 145-226). The author bases the analysis of works produced by members of the group on his previous book that is still the only monographic research on this artistic association.4 The second subject embraces the artistic circles that took shape in the period between 1911 and 1939 in the most important Polish cities - Warsaw (pp. 229-82), Lodz (pp. 283-314), Lvov (pp. 315-47), Cracow (pp. 348-80), and Vilna and Bialystok (pp. 381-400). Throughout the book, Malinowski traces the role played by the establishment of various artistic associations, both formal unions that clearly proclaimed their programs and published manifestos, and informal groups that influenced the development of Jewish art. Writing about artists from different regions in Poland, the author delineates the character of the artistic group that influenced the spiritual atmosphere in their city. Thus, when discussing artists of Cracow, he stresses the important role of the Academy of Fine Arts here when enjoyed international esteem and nurtured within its confines many talented Jewish artists. In contrast, the author shows that in Warsaw the essential factors for development of Jewish art were the activity of numerous Jewish artistic organizations, many important exhibitions, and studios - in fact, rather "salons" - that were the scene of lively discussions by the artists and Jewish intellectuals. The index, that includes lists of Jewish artistic organizations, associations, periodicals, and other bodies that supported the work of Jewish painters and sculptors (pp. 418-19), is most imposing and testifies to the author's scrupulous research and scholarship. This volume undoubtedly meets the requirements for monographic research on its subject. Jerzy Malinowski presents the reader interested in Jewish art with an allembracing study of the subject under discussion. Now we have only to await impatiently the promised second volume which, according to the author, will analyze "the work of Jewish-Polish artists who lived abroad, [...] and part of the volume will be dedicated to the art and destiny of artists in the period of World War II ..."5 (Translated from the Polish by Ilia Rodov) 1 Yigal Zalmona, "Li-demuto shel Shaz." (About the Image of Schatz) in Bezalel shel Shaz., 1906-1929 (Schatz's Bezalel, 1906-1929) [catalogue no. 232, Israel Museum], ed. Nurit Shilo-Cohen (Jerusalem, 1983), 119-37 (Hebrew). 2 Concerning the portraits represented in the book, I believe that the text in the caption "Portrait of the Ba'al Shem Tov, 19th century" under fig. 4 on p. 13 should have been extended. As it now stands it may erroneously suggest to the reader unfamiliar with Jewish history that Israel ben Eliezer, known as the Ba'al Shem Tov (ca. 1700-60), lived in the nineteenth century. 3 The date of Lilien's first visit to Jerusalem should be corrected (p. 133): he arrived there together with Boris Schatz on 16 January 1906, and not in 1905 as Malinowski states (Bezalel shel Shaz, 37). 4 Jerzy Malinowski, Grupa 'Jung Idysz' i zydowskie srodowisko 'nowej sztuki' w Polsce, 1918-1923 (The 'Young Yiddish' Group and Jewish Circle of 'New Art' in Poland, 1918-1923) (Warsaw, 1987) (Polish). 5 From the blurb on the book's jacket flap.
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