Art has always been a way to express deep beliefs, emotions, and cultural identity. For centuries, Judaism has inspired amazing works of art, weaving tradition, spirituality, and innovation. Let’s look at two artists inspired by their Jewish heritage.
Amedeo Modigliani
Amedeo Modigliani (1884 – 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor. He was raised in Livorno by a Jewish family of merchants. He suffered from pleurisy and typhus, which meant he couldn’t receive conventional education. Modigliani began studying painting in 1898, stayed in Florence in 1902, and then ventured to Venice and Paris. He admired Italian Renaissance painters, who influenced him throughout his life. Modigliani was also inspired by Paul Cézanne and Pablo Picasso. He studied African sculpture, contributing to his array of influences. His experience sculpting influenced his paintings: Modigliani was known for his “long necks, simplified features, and long oval faces” (as per Britannica).
Mason Klein, who curated the “Modigliani Unmasked” exhibition at New York’s Museum, has said the artist’s “Self-Portrait With Beard” depicted him “as an Orthodox Jew.” Yonat Shimron has written that Modigliani would “sometimes chant the kaddish prayer for mourners when he was depressed”, though he was “essentially secular”. Klein has said that at a time of “great anti-Semitism”, Modigliani’s explicit addressing “of his Jewishness” was important.
Sonia Delaunay
Sonia Delaunay was born in Ukraine to Jewish parents and spent most of her life in Paris. At a young age she was sent to live with her aunt and uncle in St Petersburg before studying painting in Germany. Along with her husband and fellow artist Robert Delaunay, she founded the Orphism art movement. Orphism was an offshoot of Cubism focusing on abstraction and bright colors.
Diane Cole writes of Delaunay, “she could not escape exposure to the graphic reports of the violent Kishinev pogrom of 1903, and wrote emotional entries in her diary about feeling connected to the Jewish people.” Delaunay often had to downplay or hide her Jewish origins, living in France during World War II. But she had learned Yiddish from her parents and was friends with Russian-Jewish Marc Chagall, who was among the artists who stayed at Sonia and Robert’s home.
Israeli Center of Judaica
Israeli Center of Judaica and art, a marketplace for unique Judaica and Jewish art, offers Jerusalem and Kotel paintings. The Kotel is an important place of prayer and connection to the divine for Jewish people. Also known as the Western Wall, it is an ancient retaining wall at the Temple Mount, considered the holiest site in Judaism. Several biblical events, including the Binding of Isaac and Jacob’s dream, took place there. Jewish people turn towards the Temple Mount during prayer.
Other paintings include a bold Jerusalem painting in a Cubist style, an abstract Jerusalem synagogue painting, and a dynamic abstract Klezmer celebration painting. The paintings include oils and acrylics, as well as some watercolors, and range in style from traditional to contemporary.
Jewish-inspired art has spanned centuries and a myriad of styles. These works not only celebrate Jewish culture but speak to universal themes of humanity and the search for meaning.
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