The second group of paintings in the Hecht Collection includes several works by the Jewish-Dutch painter Jozef Israels, who is considered one of the founders of the "Hague School" of painting.
The other works of Jewish art in this group are all by German and Eastern European artists. Some of these artists, such as Hermann Struck, Jakob Steinhardt, and Jozef Budko, immigrated to Israel and took part in the process of the crystallization of Israeli art.
Bearded Man, 1909, black and white chalkHermann Struck, painter and engraver, was born into a wealthy Orthodox Jewish family in Berlin. He was introduced to the art of etching, at which he excelled, by Hans Meyer at the Berlin Academy of Art and it soon became his favorite technique. In 1900, Struck traveled to Holland, where he studied with Jozef Israels. He became a Zionist at an early age, was one of the founders of "Hamizrachi" movement, and was active in the Zionist movement throughout his life. His early works are signed by his Hebrew name, Haim Aharon ben David. Struck was not only a master of his craft, but an excellent teacher as well. Among his students were Marc Chagall, Max Liebermann, Jozef Israels, and Lovis Corinth, all, except for Chagall, by far his seniors.b. Groningen, 1824 - d. Hague, 1911
Self-portrait, 1903, oil on canvas
Josef Israels was a Dutch Jewish painter born to the family of a money changer. He studied art with Cornelius Cruseman in Amsterdam and at the ?cole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he, like others, learned to copy old masters' paintings in the Louvre. Under the guidance of Ary Sheffer, he executed a number of Biblical scenes in the Romantic style. While in Paris he also became acquainted with the Barbizon School. In 1847 Israels returned to Holland, where he painted portraits and historical subjects and frequently reverted to Jewish themes. He turned to rural themes - peasants, fishermen, and their milieu - in 1855, when he moved to the fishing village of Zandvoort for health reasons. He is considered one of the founders of The Hague School of Painting. Israels won great popularity in his lifetime for his poetic sensibility to light and color and for his openly sentimental approach.
b. Plonsk, 1880 - d. Jerusalem, 1940
Day of Atonement Eve, 1931, watercolors
Jozef Budko received a traditional Jewish education in his youth and later studied art in Vilna and Berlin under Franz von Stuck. He immigrated to Palestine in 1933, and was appointed director of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Crafts in 1935. Budko created many illustrations for prayer books and for the literary works of Ch.N. Bialik, Y. L. Peretz, and Sholem Aleichem. In his artwork, Budko revived the decorative and symbolic values of Hebrew letters.
b. Zerkow, Poland, 1887 - d. Jerusalem, 1968
Blessing of the Moon, 1920, oil on canvasJacob Steinhardt, who became a well-known Israeli painter and printmaker, left his native Poland in 1906 to study in Berlin, first at the Museum of Arts and Crafts and then under the engraver Hermann Struck. He also studied in Paris under Laurens and Matisse, who apparently had a minor influence on his style. Steinhardt's association with Expressionism eventually proved to be far more decisive. In 1912, he returned to Berlin and, with Ludwig Meidner, founded the Expressionist art group "Die Pathetiker." In 1933, he left Germany for Palestine and settled in Jerusalem, where he mainly made engravings and lithographs. In 1949 Steinhardt was appointed head of the Graphic Arts Department at the Bezalel Academy of Art, and from 1953 to 1957 he served as the academy's director.