Jacob Steinhardt, Judaica German Expressionist Watercolor Painting Lithograph Israeli Bezalel Art

Details

Description

Jacob Steinhardt 1887-1968
Lithograph hand colored with watercolor painting. Plate signed and pencil signed lower right
Dated 1921
Judaica Shtetl … Read more Jacob Steinhardt 1887-1968
Lithograph hand colored with watercolor painting. Plate signed and pencil signed lower right
Dated 1921
Judaica Shtetl scene with Rabbis and synagogue.

Steinhardt, Jakob, Painter and Woodcut Artist. b. 1887, Yaacov Steinhardt was born in the then remote, largely Polish town of Zerkow in the Posen District of Germany. (poland/german) Immigrated 1933. Studies: 1906 School of Art, 1906 Studied in Berlin Arts and Crafts School. Berlin; 1907 painting with Lovis Corinth and engraving and etching with judaic etching master Hermann Struck; advanced studies, 1908-10 Paris, with Henri Matisse and Steinlen; 1911 Italy. Teaching: Bezalel, Jerusalem, 1953-57 Director. 1910 Participated in the “New Sezession”, Berlin. 1912 together with Ludwig Meidner and Janthur he founded the "Pathetiker" group very early in the German expressionist movement. Running afoul of the Nazis, he fled to Tel-Aviv and then Jerusalem in the early 30s, showing in “Der Sturm” Gallery. 1914 Exhibited with ludwig Meidner at first Expressionist Exhibition in Berlin. Worked mainly in woodcuts depicting biblical and other Jewish subjects. 1955-58 International awards for his woodcuts. receives graphic commissions from Fritz Gurlitt. 1922 Marries Minni Gumpert. Active in organizing Secession exhibits. 1925 Trips to Mark Brandenburg and Holy Land. Turns primarily to painting; stops work on etchings and lithographs. 1933 Emigrates to the Palestine. 1934 Moves to Jerusalem and opens an art school; attempts some etchings. 1948 Closes the art school and becomes Chairman of Graphics Department, Bezalel School for Arts and Crafts. 1954-57 Director of Bezalel School for Arts and Crafts. Taken up by J. B. Neumann who became the agent for his etchings. Exhibited Sturm Gallery, Herbst-salon. 1914 Outbreak of World War I; Steinhardt enlists in German army. 1916-18 First on Eastern Front in Poland and Lithuania, then after short training period in Berlin, sent to Macedonia. 1917 Exhibition of Lithuanian drawings at Berlin Secession in Spring. Elected member of the Secession.

He often used wood-cutting techniques that were popular amongst German Expressionists. Steinhardt was driven to express ideas clearly and decisively through art.
Amongst the themes found in his work the prophets of the Bible, such as Jonah, are noticeable. Steinhardt identified deeply with Jonah due to his attempt to run from God's call to duty.
Additionally, the image of beggars was often found in Steinhardt's works and in his artistic presentation of the less fortunate, the artist's love for his fellow man becomes evident.
Moreover, the grotesque was a theme noticeable in Steinhardt's earliest pieces. These were fantastical images; it was unclear whether or not they were human or demon. In the 1950's, Steinhardt returned to these images upon learning of the Holocaust of Europe's Jews. At that time he resided in New York and there, in the shadow of the skyscrapers, Steinhardt's reaction to WWII was expressed through his art.
A Collection of Works by Artists of the Land of Israel The Bezalel National Museum, Jerusalem 1940 Artists: Shemi, Menahem Rubin, Reuven Avni, Aharon Mokady, Moshe Jonas, Ludwig Steinhardt, Jakob Ticho, Anna Krakauer, Leopold Gutman, Nachum Budko, Joseph Ardon, Mordecai Sima, Miron Castel, Moshe Pann, Abel Struck, Hermann Gur Arie, Meir Ben Zvi, Zeev Litvinovsky, Pinchas

Education
1906 Berlin Art Museum, Berlin
1907 painting with Louis Corinth and engraving with Hermann Struck, Berlin
1909-1910 Académie Julian, Paris
1909-1910 Académie Colarossi, Paris
1909-1910 Académie Matisse, Paris

Teaching
1934-1949 Instructor drawing, painting and printing, The Studio
1949-1957 Instructor, New Bezalel, Jerusalem
1949-1953 Head of graphics department, New Bezalel, Jerusalem
1953-1957 Director, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem

Awards And Prizes
1939 IBM prize, New York World's Fair, New York, USA
1955 First Prize, Sao Paolo Biennale, Brazil
1958 California Print Makers Prize, San Francisco, USA
1959 Arte Liturgica Prize, Venice Biennale, Italy
1961 Arte Sacra Prize, The International Biennial for Religious Art, Trieste, Italy

Group Exhibition, The Museum Presents Itself: Israeli Art from the Museum Collection Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel, 2014
Artists: Yaacov Agam, Naftali Bezem, Yosl Bergner, Nahum Gutman, Menashe Kadishman, Jan Rauchwerger, Reuven Rubin, David Reeb, Moshe Mokady, Lea Nikel, Igael Tumarkin, Chana Orloff, Yohanan Simon, Zev Raban, Pinchas Litvinovsky, Avraham Ofek, Avigdor Arikha, Ludwig Blum, Zvi Mairovich, Anna Ticho, Jacob Steinhardt, Boris Schatz, Marcel Janco. See less