Ira Jan (Russian: И́ра Ян) is the pseudonym of Russian-born Jewish painter and writer Esther Yoselevitch Slepyan (Эсфи́рь Иосиле́вич Слепя́н; 2 February 1869 – 24 April 1919).She was a member of the commune at

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 ...

and among the founders of

Gymnasia Rehavia Rehavia Gymnasium or the Jerusalem Rehavia Gymnasium, by its Hebrew name Gymnasia Rehavia (), is a high school in the Rehavia neighborhood in West Jerusalem. History The high school's initial name was the Hebrew Gymnasium in Jerusalem. Gymnasia ...

Biography

Esther Yoselevitch was the youngest of three children of a Jewish family in Kishinev, then in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now part of

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

). Her father, Joseph (Osip) Yoselevitch, was an influential Russian lawyer. Recognizing her artistic talent, her father sent her at the age of 16 to study at the

Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (), also known by the acronym MUZHVZ, was one of the largest educational institutions in Russia. The school was formed by the 1865 merger of a private art college, established in Moscow ...

in Moscow, an uncommon move in Jewish society at that time. After completing her studies in Moscow, she studied in Paris, where her brother, Shimon, was practicing medicine. After returning to Kishinev, she became involved with the

Socialist Revolutionary Party The Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR; ,, ) was a major socialist political party in the late Russian Empire, during both phases of the Russian Revolution, and in early Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia. The party memb ...

, one of whom was the

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the Morphology (biology), morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the iden ...

student Dmitry Slepian (Дмитрия Слепяна), who she married and with whom she had a daughter, Elena (Елены). In 1903, after the

Kishinev pogrom The Kishinev pogrom or Kishinev massacre was an anti-Jewish riot that took place in Kishinev (modern Chișinău, Moldova), then the capital of the Bessarabia Governorate in the Russian Empire, on . During the pogrom, which began on Easter Day, ...

Hayim Nahman Bialik Hayim Nahman Bialik (; January 9, 1873 – July 4, 1934) was a Jewish poet who wrote primarily in Hebrew language, Hebrew and Yiddish. Bialik is considered a pioneer of modern Hebrew poetry, part of the vanguard of Jewish thinkers who gave voice ...

, later recognized as Israel's

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...

, was sent to Kishinev by the Jewish Historical Commission in Odessa to interview survivors and prepare a report. During this time, Jan met Bialik and fell in love with him, leading her to leave her husband and revolutionary party. She wrote later, "These three weeks gave me the happiness of being with our great poet. He brought me back to my people and to himself." In 1906 Jan immigrated to

Ottoman Palestine The region of Palestine (region), Palestine is part of the wider region of the Levant, which represents the land bridge between Africa and Eurasia.Steiner & Killebrew, p9: "The general limits ..., as defined here, begin at the Plain of ' ...

with her daughter. In 1908 she settled 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 ...

and became associated with a group of artists who called themselves "The New Jerusalem", founded by Boris Schatz whom she had met in Paris. She lived in a commune-like setting in a building near the Bezalel Academy together with

Rachel Yanait Ben-Zvi Rachel Yanait Ben-Zvi (; May 1886 – 16 November 1979) was an Israeli author and educator, and a leading Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist. Ben-Zvi was the wife of the second President of Israel, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi. Biography Rachel Yanait was born Gold ...

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Yitzhak Ben-Zvi ( ''Yitshak Ben-Tsvi''; 24 November 188423 April 1963; born Izaak Shimshelevich) was a historian, ethnologist, Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist leader and the longest-serving president of Israel. He was 1952 Israeli presidential elec ...

and others. During this period, she translated into Russian Bialik's prose poem ''Scroll of Fire'' and the poem ''The Dead of the Desert''. Rachel Yanait and Jan became very close, and would walk around Jerusalem, with Jan drawing and painting scenes and people of the city. Jan also published some essays and poems in

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda Eliezer Ben‑Yehuda (born Eliezer Yitzhak Perlman; 7 January 1858 – 16 December 1922) was a Russian–Jewish linguist, lexicographer, and journalist who immigrated to Jerusalem in 1881, when the Ottoman Empire ruled it. He is renowned as the ...

's newspaper HaZvi (later renamed "HaOr"). For lack of an appropriate school framework for their children, the artist group also founded the Gymnasia Rehavia. In 1914, following the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Jan moved to Tel Aviv and lived in the Adler House. There she continued to teach drawing at the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium, where Nachum Gutman was one of her students. In the 1917 Tel Aviv and Jaffa deportation Jan was deported to

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

in Egypt, where she lived in poverty for four months, and contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Just before the deportation, she managed to hastily hide all her large oil paintings in the Tel Aviv attic of Avraham Brill, a

Jewish Colonization Association The Jewish Colonisation Association (JCA or ICA; ) was an organisation created on September 11, 1891, by Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigration of Jews from Russia and other Eastern European countries, by settling ...

official, and upon returning to Tel Aviv she discovered that all had disappeared. She died of the tuberculosis, heartbroken at the loss of her works.

Relationship with Bialik

From the 1980s, academic studies uncovered the tangled web of Bialik and Ira Jan's love. With the pogrom in the background, Jan fell in love with the poet, left her husband and prior beliefs, and immigrated to The Land of Israel. Bialik was married, but heartbroken by the fact that they were childless, and was obviously attracted to the artist. Some scholars, including Ziva Shamir and Hillel Barzel, believe that at least two of Bialik's poems, "Thou Art Leaving Me" (״הולכת את מעמי״) and "To Your Secret Path" (״לנתיבך הנעלם״), were dedicated to Jan. Bialik apparently concealed his love to her for fear of losing his reputation, cut all contact with her after she left for the Land of Israel, and only went to the Land of Israel himself after she had died. Only in 1972 did some scholars reveal some letters that expressed Bialik's big secret, that were hidden by Moshe Ungerfeld, the second administrator of the Bialik House. Ungerfeld's incentive, too, was protecting Bialik's reputation. Additional related material was found after Ungerfeld's death in 1983. Ziva Shamir believes that a large portion of Bialik's works were directly inspired by his relationship with Jan, that, in her opinion, were the central love affair of his life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jan, Ira 1869 births 1919 deaths 19th-century women artists from the Russian Empire Artists from Chișinău People from Kishinyovsky Uyezd Moldovan artists Moldovan Jews Moldovan women artists Bessarabian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire Ashkenazi Jews from Ottoman Palestine Jewish women writers Jewish women painters Jewish painters Pseudonymous artists Burials at Trumpeldor Cemetery 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in the Ottoman Empire Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni Immigrants of the Second Aliyah

Biography

Relationship with Bialik

Further reading

References