The Bezalel academy was founded as an

art movement An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific art philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a specific period of time, (usually a few months, years or decades) or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defined ...

in Israel in the late Ottoman empire and British Mandate periods. The name Bezalel was chosen from the bible, he was a master craftsman, specifically the chief artisan of the Tabernacle, a portable sanctuary built during the Israelites' journey through the desert. The school originally 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

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

." Boris Schatz, the father of Israeli art, founded the Bezalel academy of art, design and architecture in 1906, in Jerusalem, Israel. e Haimed to establish an institution that combined education and craftsmanship, merging Eastern and Western cultures, a place to work and study. History Boris schatz - 002

Although Jewish art in Mandatory Palestine has a history that reaches back to at least the mid-19th century, the commonly held view when the Bezalel Art School was founded generally dismissed earlier works as being of little value. One author wrote that "every historical survey of contemporary Israeli art must begin with Boris Schatz and with the establishment of the Bezalel School." Another commented that "Schatz was first among the pioneers who attempted to create a Jewish Art, indeed a Palestinian Art". Yona Fischer has said that Bezalel is not the beginning of Jewish art and craft in Israel but that it is, considered within the historical context of

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

, a movement that "divides past and future" of an emerging Israel "searching its own definition".

Style and themes

The Bezalel school artists blended varied strands of surroundings, tradition and innovation in paintings and craft objects that invoked biblical themes, Islamic design and European traditions in their effort to carve out a distinctive style of Jewish art for the new nation planned 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, who left his position as head of the Royal Academy of Arts in

Sofia, Bulgaria Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, to make

aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

in 1906 and established an academy for Jewish arts in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. 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

, symbolism and traditional Persian and Syrian artistry. 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 Jewish community, which had a long tradition of craftsmanship in precious metals, and began to make aliyah about 1880. In Yemen, filigree jewelry making was a respected profession among the Jews, with cultural as well as religious applications. Yemenite Jewish silversmiths worked primarily with silver, creating pieces by hand using traditional methods. Yemenite immigrants wearing 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 also objects sold as Judaica and souvenirs. In 1915, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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.

References

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External links

Bezalel School
at The

Jewish Museum (New York) The Jewish Museum is an art museum housed at 1109 Fifth Avenue, in the Felix M. Warburg House, along the Museum Mile on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. The museum holds a collection of approximately 30,000 objects, including ...

Dalia Manor, “Biblical Zionism in Bezalel Art,”
Israel Studies 6.1 (2001) 55-75 Art movements Decorative arts Asian artist groups and collectives Art Nouveau Israeli art Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design

Style and themes

See also

References

Further reading

External links