The Seidenbeutel brothers were
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
artists who were twins. Efraim Seidenbeutel and Menasze Seidenbeutel were born on December 7, 1907. They were killed in 1945, at the
Flossenbürg concentration camp
Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office. Unlike other concentration camps, it was located in a remote area, in the Fichtel Mountains of Bavaria, adjacent to the town of ...
. They had two brothers who were also artists: Józef, the oldest, was a painter, and Hirsz, the youngest, was a sculptor.
Art
The Seidenbeutels are considered "Interwar Artists" and painted in the
Post-expressionism Post-expressionism is a term coined by the German art critic Franz Roh to describe a variety of movements in the post-war art world which were influenced by expressionism but defined themselves through rejecting its aesthetic. Roh first used the ter ...
of
École de Paris
The School of Paris (french: École de Paris) refers to the French and émigré artists who worked in Paris in the first half of the 20th century.
The School of Paris was not a single art movement or institution, but refers to the importance ...
. They painted mostly landscapes and still life scenes. The twins had a unique way of working; one brother would start a painting and the other brother would finish it. They would sign the painting with just their surname. Even the works the twins created separately have an almost identical style.
Biography
The Seidenbeutels were born in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...
. Their father, Abraham, was a textile trader, and their mother took care of the eight children. Efraim's and Menasze's six siblings included Józef, the oldest, who was also a painter and Hirsz, who was younger and was a sculptor.
Education
The Seidenbeutels signed up for painting studies in 1921, at the Municipal School of Decorative Arts. In 1922, their sculpture titled “The Portrait of Anski” was shown at the 4th Exhibition of Paintings and Sculptures organized by the Jewish community. Thereafter, they became students at the
Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw ( pl, Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Warszawie) is a public university of visual arts and applied arts located in the Polish capital. The Academy traces its history back to the Department of Arts founded at the Warsa ...
, where they belonged to the elitist group "Four" set up by the Rector
Tadeusz Pruszkowski. Monika Żeromska remembers that the twins enrolled in school as one student, paid one fee, and took turns attending classes.
The pre-war years
The Seidenbeutels had their studio at the Jewish dorm on Sierakowskiego Street in the Warsaw district of
Praga
Praga is a district of Warsaw, Poland. It is on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter.
History
The historical Praga was a small settlement located at ...
. Frequently, they would go on field trips to small villages and paint
en plein air
''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors.
This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...
. One of the towns they visited frequently was
Kazimierz Dolny
Kazimierz Dolny () is a small historic town in eastern Poland, on the right (eastern) bank of the Vistula river in Puławy County, Lublin Voivodeship. Historically it belongs to Lesser Poland, and in the past it was one of the most important citie ...
. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, they would arrive for a 'season' carrying over 24 stretched canvases each, and complete them in 30–60 days. These canvases would be exhibited in Warsaw and
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 159 ...
and would sell out. They met with other artists and inspired younger ones, such as
Chaim Goldberg
Chaim Goldberg (March 20, 1917 – June 26, 2004) was a Polish-American artist, painter, sculptor, and engraver. He is known for being a chronicler of Jewish life in the eastern European Polish villages (or '' shtetlekh'') like the one in his ...
. They met Goldberg when he was eight-years old and bought him en plein air
gouache
Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouache ...
; it was Goldberg's first sale.
The Holocaust Years
During World War II and the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...
occupation, the Seidenbeutels were confined within the
Białystok Ghetto
The Białystok Ghetto ( pl, getto w Białymstoku) was a Nazi ghetto set up by the German SS between July 26 and early August 1941 in the newly formed District of Bialystok within occupied Poland. About 50,000 Jews from the vicinity of Białys ...
where they worked at the House of Art in the army. They may have belonged to a group of painters, set up by Oskar Steffens, who copied reproductions of paintings by old masters. The twins were later sent to the
Stutthof concentration camp
Stutthof was a Nazi concentration camp established by Nazi Germany in a secluded, marshy, and wooded area near the village of Stutthof (now Sztutowo) 34 km (21 mi) east of the city of Danzig ( Gdańsk) in the territory of the Germa ...
, from which they were marched to the death camp in Flossenbürg. They were executed by the camp’s guards one day before the camp was liberated. Izaak Celnikier, also a painter, was a witness to their deaths.
Their unique bond
The Seidenbeutels had a unique bond that intrigues experts to the present day. One brother would start a painting while the other completed it, and the signature was their surname. They signed their paintings this way even when completing a painting individually.
Their similar looks became the subject of jokes, the most popular of which is the following:
List of art works
;Works executed jointly:
* ''Portret An-skiego (Portrait of An-ski)'' (1921), relief
* ''Widok z okna (Window view)'' (1930) oil on canvas, 88×76, in the harvest
Muzeum Sztuki w Łodzi
Muzeum () is a Prague Metro station providing the interchange between Lines A and C, and serving the National Museum. It is located at the top end of Wenceslas Square.
The Line C station was opened on 9 May 1974, with the first section of P ...
* ''Martwa natura z kwiatami'' (''Still life with flowers'') oil on a glass 69,5×60,8, in private collections
* ''Droga do wioski (Road to the village)'' (ok. 1938)
* ''Studium kobiety z kwiatami (Study of a woman with flowers)'' (ok. 1930) oil on plywood, 72,5×61, in the harvest
Muzeum Narodowego w Szczecinie[Małgorzata Witek-Czyńska. Efraim i Menasze Seidebeutlowie – dzieło wspólne. „Gazeta Antykwaryczna”. 70 (1), 2002.]
* ''Bukiet kwiatów w wazonie (A bouquet of flowers in a vase)'' (ok. 1930), oil on canvas, 80,5×69,5, in private collections
* ''Wioska (The village)'' oil on canvas 64,8×79,5
[
* ''Dziewczyna z gołąbkiem (The girl with a dove)'' oil on canvas, 73,2×59,7, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
* ''Dziewczyna z koszem owoców (Girl with a basket of fruit)''][''Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945...'' s. 26]
* ''Widok na farę w Kazimierzu (View of the parish church in Kazimierz)'' oil on plywood 47×33, in private collections [
* ''Mury Kazimierskie (Kazimierz Walls)'' oil on cardboard, 39×22, in private collections
* ''Martwa natura (Still life)'' (ok. 1930) oil on canvas, 80,5×71, in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw][
* ''Martwa natura (Still life)'' 70×49, in private collections
* ''Ulica Krakowska (Krakowska Street)''
* ''Pejzaż z domami (Landscape with houses)''
* ''Siostry'' (1935)][''Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945...'' s. 27] ''(Sisters)''
* ''Młoda kobieta z kwiatami (Young woman with flowers)''[''Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945...'' s. 24]
* ''Zamyślona'' (Pensive)
* ''Kobieta w szalu (The woman in the scarf)''[''Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945...'' s. 28] (Concert)
* ''Zmrok (Nightfall)''
* ''Dzieci''[''Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945...'' s. 29]
* ''Gołębiarz (Sniper)''
* ''Rowerzyści (Bikers)'' (1934)
* ''Matka z dzieckiem (Mother with baby)''
* ''Dziewczyna z gołębiem (The girl with the pigeon)'', oil on canvas, 80,5×65,8, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
* ''Przedmieścia Krakowa (The suburbs of Kraków)'' (1934), oil on plywood, 61×75, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
* ''Portret Moniki Żeromskiej (Portrait of Monika Żeromska)'' (1935)[Cite error: The named reference psb was invoked but never defined]
* ''Martwa natura z fajką (Still life with a pipe)'' (1930)
* ''Przy kuźni (At the forge)'' (1936)
* ''Przy pracy (During work)'' (1936)
* ''Ulica w miasteczku z dorożką i stołem przed domem''/ ''Kobieta z owocami na paterze (A street in a town with a horse-drawn carriage and a table in front of the house/ Woman with fruit on a plate)'' (on the reverse)
* ''Willa w ogrodzie (Villa in the garden)'' oil on plywood, 44×48, in the collection of the Museum of Art in Łódź
* ''Widok z tarasu (View from the terrace)'' (ok. 1935), 60×70, in private collections
* ''Żółte róże (Yellow roses)'' (1932) oil on canvas, 83×73, in the collection of the Museum of Art in Łódź[
* ''Portret dziewczynki z kwiatami (Portrait of a girl with flowers)'' 87×62,5, in the collection of the National Museum in Warsa]
link
* ''Martwa natura (na obrusie w kratę) (Still life (on the checkered tablecloth))'', oil on canvas, 73×93, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
* ''Miejska uliczka (City street)'' oil on canvas, 78×70, in private collections
* ''Widok miasta (City view)'', oil on cardboard, 27×44,5, in private collections
* ''Pejzaż wiejski (Rural landscape)'' (ok. 1930) oil on canvas, 64,5×72, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
* ''Pejzaż małomiasteczkowy z kościołem w tle (A provincial landscape with a church in the background)'' (ok. 1933-35), oil on plywood, 62×70, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
* ''Martwa natura we wnętrzu (Still life in the interior)'' (ok. 1935-39), oil on canvas, 80×100, in private collections
* ''Jarmark (Fair)'', 25×35, watercolor, gouache, ink on paper, in the collection of the Rynek Sztuki Gallery in Łódź
;Works by Efraim
* ''Kulisy (Behind the scenes)''
* ''Widok z okna (Window view)'' (before 1934), oil on canvas, 98.3 × 79.3, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
* ''Martwa natura (Still life)'' (circa 1930), 80.5 × 71, in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw
* ''Martwa natura z prymulką (Still life with a primula)'' (1934), oil on canvas, 70 × 49, in a private collection
* ''Chłopiec z lampą naftową (Boy with an oil lamp)''[''Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945...'' s. 30]''
* ''Martwa natura (Still life)'' (1940)
List of exhibitions
* 1922 IV Exhibition of Pictures and Sculptures
* 1930 Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts, Warsaw
* 1931 Poznań
* 1931 IPS, Łódź
* 1931 Geneva, Musee Rath
* 1933 IPS, Warsaw (two exhibitions)
* 1933 College Art Association, New York
* 1933 TPSP
* 1934 XIX Biennale, Venice
* 1934 Riga
* 1835 Brussels
* 1936 IPS, Warsaw
* 1936 IPS, Lviv
* 1938 Moravian Ostrava
* 1939 IPS, Warsaw
* 1939 TPSP
* 1939 London
References
Primary references
# (Monika Żeromska, Wspomnienia, Część 1. Czytelnik, 1993, p. 145)
# (T. Wittlin, Ostatnia cyganeria. Czytelnik, 1989, pp. 147–149.)
# (The Virtual Shtetl Project
The Virtual Shtetl Project
# (The Official Website of the Artist Chaim Goldberg
Research references
# Grób Szpryncy Seidenbeutel w bazie danych Cmentarza Żydowskiego przy ul. Okopowej w Warszawie
# Abraham Rotsztejn (born on 20.10.1934 in San Paolo, Brasil) about his maternal family from Warsaw.
# 3,0 3,1 3,2 3,3 3,4 3,5 3,6 3,7 3,8 3,9 Jerzy Malinowski: Seidenbeutel Efraim, Seidenbeutel Jerzy, Seidenbeutel Menasze. W: Polski Słownik Biograficzny XXXVI Zeszyt 149. 1995, s. 163–167.
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902-1945: Pośród braci...: obrazy / Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902-1945: Among the brothers: pictures. Kazimierz Dolny: Muzeum Nadwiślańskie, 2007, s. 14. .
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 16
# 6,00 6,01 6,02 6,03 6,04 6,05 6,06 6,07 6,08 6,09 6,10 6,11 6,12 6,13 Małgorzata Witek-Czyńska. Efraim i Menasze Seidebeutlowie – dzieło wspólne. „Gazeta Antykwaryczna”. 70 (1), 2002.
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 35
# Wiesław Budzyński: Miasto Schulza. Prószyński i S-ka, 2005, s. 401. .
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 37
# J. Jaworska: Nie wszystek umrę ...: twórczość plastyczna Polaków w hitlerowskich więzieniach i obozach koncentracyjnych, 1939-1945. Książka i Wiedza, 1975, s. 40.
# List of the Jews Deported from the Bialystok Prison to Concentration Camp Stutthof on November 21, 1943 (ang.). ostęp 2009-10-11
# Szlak Dziedzictwa Żydowskiego w Białymstoku. ostęp 2009-10-10
# The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names: Pages of Testimony (ang.). ostęp 11 października 2009
# The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names: Pages of Testimony (ang.). ostęp 11 października 2009
# The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names: Pages of Testimony (ang.). ostęp 11 października 2009
# 16,0 16,1 Zwoje (The Scrolls) 3 (28), 2001. ostęp 2009-10-10
# 17,0 17,1 17,2 Monika Żeromska: Wspomnienia, Część 1. Czytelnik, 1993, s. 145. .
# 18,0 18,1 Antoni Uniechowski: Antoni Uniechowski o sobie i innych. Iskry, 1966, s. 121–124.
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945...' s. 8
# 20,0 20,1 Tadeusz Wittlin: Ostatnia cyganeria. Czytelnik, 1989, s. 147-149. .
# Włodzimierz Bartoszewicz: Buda na Powiślu. PIW, 1966.
# Jan Zamoyski: Łukaszowcy: malarze i malarstwo Bractwa św. Łukasza. Wydawnictwa Artystyczne i Filmowe, 1989, s. 52. .
# Leopold Infeld: Szkice z przeszłości: wspomnienia. Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1964, s. 40.
# Hanna Mortkowicz-Olczakowa: Bunt wspomnień. Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1961, s. 339.
# Felicja Lilpop Krance: Powroty. 1991, s. 38.
# Małgorzata Kitowska-Łysiak: Schulzowskie marginalia. Wydawn. KUL, 2007, s. 131.
# Wiesław Budzyński: Miasto Schulza. Prószyński i S-ka, 2005, s. 401. .
# Joanna Pollakówna: Byli bracia malarze... : o życiu i malowaniu braci Efraima i Menasze Seidenbeutlów. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Hotel Sztuki, 2002. .
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945...' s. 26
# 30,0 30,1 Jerzy Malinowski, Barbara Brus-Malinowska: Malarstwo i rzeźba żydów polskich w XIX i XX wieku. Warszawa: Wydawn. Naukowe PWN, 2000. .
# Waldemar Odorowski: Malarze Kazimierza nad Wisłą. Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, 1991, s. 70.
# Andrzej K. Olszewski: Dzieje sztuki polskiej 1890-1980 w zarysie. Wydawn. Interpress, 1988, s. 62. .
# 33,0 33,1 Irena Kossowska: Kultura polska: Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutel. luty 2005. ostęp 2009-10-11
# T. Czyżewski. Z wystaw: Jeszcze kilku młodych w IPS-i.e. „Prosto z Mostu: tygodnik literacko-artystyczny”. 5 (6), s. 7, 1939.
# Kolekcja sztuki XX/XXI w.. ostęp 2009-10-11
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 57
# Martwa natura z kwiatami. ostęp 2009-10-12
# Droga do wioski. ostęp 2009-10-12
# Bukiet kwiatów w wazonie. ostęp 2009-10-12
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 70
# 41,0 41,1 41,2 Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 26
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 61
# Martwa natura. ostęp 2009-10-12
# 44,0 44,1 Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 27
# 45,0 45,1 45,2 Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 24
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 25
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 90
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 65
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 84-85
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 76
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 87
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 83
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 91
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 78
# 55,0 55,1 Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 28
# 56,0 56,1 Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 29
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 66
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 69
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 92-93
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 80
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 95
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 81
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 82
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 75
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 94
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 86
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 68
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 56
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 62
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 96
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 63
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 64
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 79
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 53
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 55
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 54
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 88
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 71
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 58
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 52
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 31
# Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945... s. 30
Further reading
* Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902-1945: Pośród braci...: obrazy / Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902-1945: Among the brothers: pictures. Kazimierz Dolny: Muzeum Nadwiślańskie, 2007
* Joanna Pollakówna: Byli bracia malarze... : o życiu i malowaniu braci Efraima i Menasze Seidenbeutlów. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Hotel Sztuki, 2002
External links
*
"Mishkan LeOmanut": Museum of Art, Ein Harod, Zusia Efron
, Curator December 1970
Seidenbeutels' works in Central Jewish Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seidenbeutel brothers
Artists from Warsaw
Brother duos
Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust
People who died in Flossenbürg concentration camp
Polish people executed in Nazi concentration camps
Executed people from Masovian Voivodeship
1907 births
1945 deaths
Polish civilians killed in World War II
Białystok Ghetto inmates