Rolly Schaffer was born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

, Romania in 1947. Known for his Pointillist and neo-impressionist art. His work was marked by a synthesis of European Art and inspiration from

Safed Safed (known in Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevat ...

and its atmosphere. He lived in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

where he died in 2011 in Israel. Several of his works are displayed in Beit Castel Gallery in Safed.

Biography and Education

Rolly Schaffer was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1947. Known for his Pointillist and neo-impressionist art. He often painted his adopted town

. He studied art at the Nicolai Grigorescu Academy of Art (under surrealistic painter

Jules Perahim Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...

). Rolly Schaffer moved with his family to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

in 1964 for 2 years after which they settled in Safed,

. In Safed he studied under Yitzhak Frenkel Frenel. After his military service, he finished his studies in the Grand Chamiere in Paris. After two years he returned and settled in Safed, joining other painters such as

Moshe Castel Moshe Castel ( he, משה קסטל; 1909 – December 12, 1991) was an Israeli painter. Biography Moshe Elazar Castel born in Jerusalem, Ottoman Palestine, in 1909, to Rabbi Yehuda Castel and his wife Rachel. The family was descended from Sp ...

Shimshon Holzman Shimshon Holzman (variant name: Shimson Holzman; he, שמשון הולצמן; 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, ...

, Yitzhak Frenkel Frenel and others that chose Safed as their lair. He would live in Safed for the rest of his life.

Style

Rolly Schaffer was influenced by his teachers as well as the students that surrounded him during his formation. While studying in the Grand Chamiere, he encountered the works of impressionist, expressionist, pointillists and other painters. Neo impressionists such as Seurat and Signac had a lasting influence on the young artist. Schaffer grew interested in the unique techniques of the two which were oriented by scientific analysis of both the harmony and the clash of colours simultaneously. He applied his canvases with different drabs of primary colours and thus creating a sense of movement whilst the eye looked from afar. Upon his return to Safed he began to develop his own artistsic style, a unique clash and synthesis between local traditions and European art. His style is characterised by rich colours, precise compositions, all of which are achieved through the use of radiant dots and colours. Through this newfound language he succeeded in conveyeing a dramatic atmosphere to the doors, ancient alleys and windows of his canvases. Through his art he attempted to reveal Safed's mystic aura. Schaffer's work is marked by the synthesis of unseen spirituality and concrete reality, which marked his style as a mixture of the European and the Safed tradition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaffer, Rolly 1947 births 2011 deaths Artists from Bucharest Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Romanian emigrants to Israel Pupils of Yitzhak Frenkel Romanian artists Israeli painters Romanian painters Israeli artists

Biography and Education

Style

See Also

References