The Histadrut studio of art was the first art academy in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

. Founded by Isaac Frenkel Frenel, it was active from 1926 to 1929. The Jewish labour union known as the

Histadrut Histadrut, fully the New General Workers' Federation () and until 1994 the General Federation of Labour in the Land of Israel (, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center and represents the m ...

provided some funding and therefore the studio used the Histadrut name.

History

The art school was the first in Israel to adapt and teach modern art trends. It was particularly influenced by modern French art and the

School of Paris The School of 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 of Paris as a centre o ...

. Isaac Frenkel, who studied in Paris, taught his students the modern Parisian art trends.

Frenkel Frenkel is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aaron G. Frenkel (born 1957), Israeli entrepreneur and philanthropist * Alexander Frenkel (born 1985), German boxer of Ukrainian origin * Boris Borvine Frenkel (1895–1984), Polish ...

presented a modernist alternative to

Bezalel In Exodus 31:1-6 and chapters 36 to 39, Bezalel, Bezaleel, or Betzalel (, ''Bəṣalʼēl''), was the chief artisan of the Tabernacle and was in charge of building the Ark of the Covenant, assisted by Oholiab. The section in chapter 31 descr ...

's (a Jerusalem art school) Orientalist style. The art studio was one of many catalysts to

's rise in cultural prominence in the

Yishuv The Yishuv (), HaYishuv Ha'ivri (), or HaYishuv HaYehudi Be'Eretz Yisra'el () was the community of Jews residing in Palestine prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The term came into use in the 1880s, when there were about 2 ...

; the studio's role was especially prominent in the sphere of art. Several Bezalel students would join the studio during the weekends in order to learn the new modern French art from Frenkel. These students include

Moshe Castel Moshe Castel (; 1909 – December 12, 1991) was an Israelis, Israeli painter. Biography Moshe Elazar Castel born in Jerusalem, History of Palestine#Ottoman period, Ottoman Palestine, in 1909, to Rabbi Yehuda Castel and his wife Rachel. The ...

Avigdor Stematsky Avigdor Stematsky (; 1908–1989) was a Russian-born Israeli painter. He is considered one of the pioneers of Israeli abstract art. Biography Stematsky was born in 1908 in Odessa, Russian Empire (now Odesa, Ukraine). He studied under Isaac Frenk ...

, Ziona Tagger, and,

Yehezkel Streichman Yehezkel Streichman (; 1906 – January 12, 1993) was an Israeli painter. He is considered a pioneer of Israeli modernist painting. Among the awards that he won were the Dizengoff Prize and the Israel Prize. Biography Yehezkel Streichman was b ...

. In September 1927 the studio was made up of 17 students of whom 6 were female. Due to the extreme poverty of his students, Frenkel did not even demand one grush in payment.

Artistic Style and Teachings

The art studio emphasized the use of modern techniques in painting. Furthermore, at the studio, reproductions of Modern artists such as

van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...

Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French people, French Impressionism, Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, Print ...

, Cezanne and others were shown in the class. Some of these were the only reproductions of these artists available in Mandatory Palestine. Only 3 such reproductions were available in Tel Aviv in the beginning, one of van Gogh, of Cezanne and

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

. The school taught

Post-Impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction a ...

, unknown at the time in Mandatory-Palestine. The artists were also exposed to the ideas and works of living artists, especially the Jewish artists of the Ecole de Paris, which include:

Chaim Soutine Haim can be a first name or surname originating in Hebrew or derived from the Old German name Haimo. Etymology Hebrew Chayyim ( ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ), also transcribed ''Haim, Hayim, Chayim'', or ''Chaim'' (English pronunciati ...

Michel Kikoine Michel Kikoïne (; , ''Michail Kikóin''; 31 May 1892 – 4 November 1968) was a Lithuanian Jewish-French painter who belonged to the Ecole de Paris art movement. Life Kikoine was born in Rechytsa, present-day Belarus. The son of a Jewish b ...

Jules Pascin Julius Mordecai Pincas (March 31, 1885 – June 2, 1930), known as Pascin (, erroneously or ), Jules Pascin, also known as the "Prince of Montparnasse", was a Bulgarian artist of the School of Paris, known for his paintings and drawings. He ...

and others. Frenkel, through his studio, encouraged the young students to travel to France following their studies in the studio. In the 1920s and 30s, a wave of students from the Histadrut Art studio left

to study in Paris, returning home a few years later and augmenting the influence of French art in the Jewish Yishuv.

Exhibitions

Frenkel's studio participated in several major art exhibitions during the 1920s, including the Modern Artists Exhibition in the Ohel theatre and the

tower of David The Tower of David (), also known as the Citadel (), is an ancient citadel and contemporary museum, located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem. The citadel that stands today dates to the Mamluk Sult ...

exhibitions. In the Modern Artists' Exhibition they presented "New art" for a "New society". The Histadrut Art Studio also presented its works in the

Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium (, also known as ''Gymnasia Herzliya''), originally known as HaGymnasia HaIvrit (lit. Hebrew High School) is a historic high school in Tel Aviv, Israel, whose faculty and alumni includes many people influential in t ...

, but several of the young artists were unable to frame their paintings due to their poverty.

Students

Shimshon Holzman Shimshon Holzman (variant name: Shimson Holzman; ; 1907–1986) was an Israeli landscape and figurative painter. He is known worldwide for his water color paintings. Background Holzman was born in 1907, in Sambir, Galicia (Central Europe), Galic ...

* Yosef Kossonogi *

Mordechai Levanon Mordechai Levanon (; 1901 - 1968) was an Israeli painter. He was one of the foremost Israeli landscape painters. He was the winner of the Dizengoff prize in 1940 and 1961. He was enchanted by Erez Israel's light, and the cities of Safed and Jeru ...

Arieh Navon Arieh Navon (né Kligman) (; May 22, 1909 – November 29, 1996) was a Russian-Israeli painter and illustrator, the first cartoonist in the Yishuv. He was also a set designer, comic artist and book illustrator. Winner of the Israel Prize for Pe ...

* Genia Berger *

* Yechekzel Streichman * David Hendler

References

{{coord missing, Israel Art schools in Israel