Mordechai Avniel (; 1900–1989), variant name Mordecai Avniel, was an Israeli

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and lawyer.

Biography

Mordecai Dickstein (later Avniel) was born in 1900 in Parychy, in the

Minsk Governorate Minsk Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Minsk. It was created from the land acquired in the partitions of Poland and existed from 1793 until 1921. Its territory covered th ...

of 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 ...

(present-day

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

). He studied fine arts in

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(1913–19) and at the

Bezalel Academy of Art and Design Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design () is a public college of design and art located in Jerusalem. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's oldest institution of higher education and is considered the ...

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 ...

(1923). Avniel immigrated to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

in 1921 where he first worked as a pioneer in citrus plantations near

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

. In 1923, at the urging of

Boris Schatz Boris Schatz (; Russian language, Russian: Борис Шац; 23 December 1866 – 23 March 1932) was a Lithuanian Jews, Lithuanian Jewish artist and sculptor who settled in Palestine. Schatz was the founder of the Bezalel school and would be late ...

, he went to Jerusalem to further his art studies at Bezalel. He later taught painting and sculpture at the school, and served a term as director of the Small Sculpture Section of the Sculpture Department (1924–28). From 1935 on, Avniel lived in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

. Avniel was also a lawyer and a founding partner of the Haifa firm Avniel, Salomon & Company.

Art career

Avniel regularly showed his work in group exhibitions of the Painters and Sculptors' Association of Israel. He was awarded the Herman Struck Prize (1952), Tenth Anniversary Prize for Watercolours,

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

(1958),

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 ...

Prize (1961), and First Prize Haifa Municipality (1977). He represented Israel at the 1958

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

and the 1962 International Art Seminar at

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University () is a private university with its main campuses in New Jersey, located in Madison / Florham Park and in Teaneck / Hackensack. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University offers more than 100 degree prog ...

. Avniel was a member of the Artists' Colony in

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

and maintained a studio on

Mount Carmel Mount Carmel (; ), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias (; ), is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. The range is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. A number of towns are situat ...

Artistic style

Avniel is best known for his landscape paintings. He said of his scenes of Israel: "I loved the Israeli landscape. While roaming the country extensively, I gradually absorbed its atmosphere, its lights and moods, the view of mountains and valleys, the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee (, Judeo-Aramaic languages, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth ...

and the expanse of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. Again and again, I experimented painting and drawing them, at the same time trying to teach myself contemporary art. And thus I gradually shook off the academic conception, and became freer. I tried with my whole being to find my own style. The clouds floating above the Galilee or the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...

- both below sea level - bring about an almost constant change of light, colour and atmosphere. The scenery takes on certain shapes and discards them again. These clouds taught me to understand space. I do not see my landscapes optically; they are a fusion of colours blended harmoniously - abstract at times, and at other times expressions of my inner feelings. Only after years did I find self-expression in my landscape, in the light, the atmosphere and the sun of Israel. My motif is always the non-static landscape with all its contrasts: the rays of dawn, the stillness of the day's heat, the evening's twilight, radiance and dimness, wind and rain, a night's storm." Avniel's manipulations of light and colour share much with those of compatriot artists

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 ...

and

Joseph Kossonogi Joseph Kossonogi (; 1908–1981) (also Yosef Kossonogy) was an Israeli painter. Biography Joseph Kossonogi was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1908. After studies at the Berlin Academy of Art and advanced studies in France, the Netherlands, Italy ...

Selected exhibitions

* 2004: ''Our Landscape: Notes on Landscape Painting in Israel'', University of Haifa Art Gallery, Haif
(online catalogue)
* 1965: ''Mordechai Avniel Retrospective'', Haifa Municipality Museum of Modern Art, Haifa * 1964: Galerie Synthèse, Paris * 1962: New York University, New York * 1961: Rina Gallery of Modern Art, Jerusalem * 1960: Galerie Intime, Montréal * 1959: ''Opening Show'', Gallery Moos, Toronto (with

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

Serge Poliakoff Serge Poliakoff (January 8, 1900 – October 12, 1969) was a Russian-born French modernist painter belonging to the 'New' École de Paris ( Tachisme). Biography Serge Poliakoff was born in Moscow in 1900, the thirteenth of fourteen children. H ...

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

Hans Erni Hans Erni (February 21, 1909 – March 21, 2015) was a Swiss graphic designer, painter, illustrator, engraver and sculptor. Born in Lucerne, the third of eight siblings, to a cabin cruiser engineer, he studied art at the Académie Julian in Par ...

and

Paul-Émile Borduas Paul-Émile Borduas (November 1, 1905 – February 22, 1960) was a Québécois artist known for his abstract paintings. He was the leader of the avant-garde Automatiste movement and the chief author of the Refus Global manifesto of 1948. B ...

(1959 gallery invitation)
* 1959: Pulitzer Art Galleries, New York * 1957: Chemerinsky Gallery, Tel Aviv * 1956: Museum of Modern Art, Haifa * 1955: Nora Gallery, Jerusalem * 1954: Tel Aviv Museum, Tel Aviv * 1954: National Museum, Washington * 1953: Shore Gallery, Boston * 1952: Katz Gallery, Tel Aviv * 1941: Beit Pevsner, Haifa

Selected collections

* Haifa museum of Art * Tel Aviv Museum * Israel Museum, Jerusalem * Boston Public Library * Brooklyn Museum * Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge * Hartford Atheneum * Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York * Museum of Fine Arts, Boston * Museum of Modern Art, New York *

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, Washington DC * New York Public Library * Philadelphia Museum of Art * Baltimore Museum of Art * Carnegie Institute of Fine Arts, Pittsburgh * Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

References

Catalogues

* Ayal, Avishay, and Yoram Bar-Gal. ''Our Landscape: Notes on Landscape Painting in Israel'' xhibition catalogue Haifa: University of Haifa Art Gallery, 2004. * Jaffé, Hans Ludwig. ''Sea of Galilee: Watercolors'' ortfolio of colour plates Tel Aviv: M. Avniel, 1963. * ''Mordechai Avniel: The Israeli Landscape Painter'' atalogue Tel Aviv: United Artists,

966 Year 966 (Roman numerals, CMLXVI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * 23 June - Arab-Byzantine Wars, Byzantine-Arab War: Arab-Byzantine prisoner exchanges, A prisoner excha ...

* ''Mordecai Avniel: Retrospective Exhibition, November–December 1965'' xhibition catalogue Haifa: Museum of Modern Art, 1965. * Tadmor, Gabriel (ed). ''Mordecai Avniel: Paintings, Woodcuts, Small Sculptures'' ortfolio Haifa: M. Avniel, 97-? * ''Twelve Israeli Painters'' ortfolio of colour plates Tel Aviv: Lion Printers, 1965.

External links

Israeli Art Centre
(Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Mordechai Avniel

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
(collection of woodcuts and etchings) * Selected works can be viewe
here.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avniel, Mordechai 1900 births 1989 deaths People from Svyetlahorsk district People from Bobruysky Uyezd Belarusian Jews Jews from the Russian Empire Soviet Jews Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Jews from Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Israeli male painters Jewish Israeli painters 20th-century Russian painters Russian male painters 20th-century Israeli sculptors 20th-century Israeli male artists Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design alumni 20th-century Russian male artists