Ze'ev Raban
Ze’ev Raban (22 September 1890 – 19 January 1970), born Wolf Rawicki (Ravitzki), was a leading painter,
Biography
Early life and education
Wolf Rawicki (later Ze'ev Raban) was born in
Ottoman and British Mandate Palestine
Studies
Under the influence of
Teaching activity
Two years after following Schatz's call, Raban joined the faculty of the Bezalel school.
Tower of David exhibition
In 1921, he participated in the historic art exhibition at the Tower of David in Jerusalem, the first exhibit of Hebrew artists in Palestine, which became the first of an annual series of such exhibits.
Artistic style and range
Style
Raban is regarded as a leading member of the Bezalel school art style, in which artists portrayed both Biblical and Zionist themes in a style influenced by the European
Like other European art nouveau artists of the period, such as Alphonse Mucha, Raban combined commercial commissions with uncommissioned paintings.[4]
"Raban easily navigated a wealth of artistic sources and mediums, borrowing and combining ideas from East and West, fine arts and crafts from past and present. His works blended European neoclassicism, Symbolist art and Art Nouveau with oriental forms and techniques to form a distinctive visual lexicon. Versatile and productive, he lent this unique style to most artistic mediums, including the fine arts, illustration, sculpture, repousee, jewellery design, and ceramics."[5]
Book illustration and graphic design
Good examples of Raban's specific eclectic mix of European and Oriental styles are his illustrated editions of the
"Bezalel ceramics" (tile murals)
Raban collaborated with other artists to produce versions of his work as ceramic tile murals, of the so-called "Bezalel ceramics" type, a number of which can still be sees on buildings in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, including the Bialik House. The 1925 Lederberg house, at the intersection of Rothschild Boulevard and Allenby Street features a series of large ceramic murals designed by Raban. The four murals show a Jewish pioneer sowing and harvesting, a shepherd, and Jerusalem with a verse from Jeremiah 31:4, "Again I will rebuild thee and thous shalt be rebuilt."[7]
Architectural decoration
Raban designed the decorative elements of such important Jerusalem buildings as the King David Hotel and the Jerusalem YMCA.[4]
Judaica
Raban also designed a wide range of
In 2015 one of his works received international attention. The President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin visited at the White House with U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for the December 2015 Hannukah celebration.[10] Israel's First Lady Nechama Rivlin joined her husband in lighting a menorah made in Israel by Raban, and loaned by the North Carolina Museum of Art's Judaic Art Gallery. The White House noted: "The design elements of this menorah underscore a theme of coexistence, and its presence in the collection of the Judaic Art Gallery in North Carolina highlights the ties between American Jews and Israeli Jews and the vibrancy of Jewish life in the American South."[11]
See also
References
- ^ Israeli painting: from post-Impressionism to post-Zionism, By Ronald Fuhrer, Overlook Press, 1998, p. 24
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Zeev Raban (Ravitzki)". The Israel Museum, Jerusalem: Information Center for Israeli Art. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- ^ a b c AATC Artists – Ze'ev Raban
- ^ a b Jerusalem International YMCA – Architecture: the building
- ^ Sotheby's auction file
- ^ a b Raban Remembered: Jerusalem's Forgotten Master. New York City: Yeshiva University Museum. 1982.
- ^ Chaim Nachman Bialik Home, in Batia Carmiel, Tiles Adorned City; Bezalel Ceramics on Tel Aviv Houses, 1923-1929, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, copyright 1996, book in Hebrew and some English with illustrations
- ^ Spertus |Spertus Museum | Chicago
- ISBN 9781585444946.
- ^ "Rivlin Lights White House Menorah with 'Prayer for Liberty'". The Times of Israel. December 9, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
- ^ Nosanchuk, Matt (December 9, 2015). "We Asked, You Answered: "What's the Story Behind Your Menorah?"". The White House. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
Further reading
Books
- Raban Remembered: Jerusalem's Forgotten Master, Essays and Catalogue of an Exhibition at the Yeshiva University Museum, December 1982
- Ze'ev Raban, A Hebrew Symbolist, Batsheva Goldman Ida, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, 2001, 233 pp.
- Zeev Raban, 1890-1970, By Zeev Raban, Malka Jagendorf, Published by Mayanot Gallery, Jerusalem, 1993
Articles
- Goldfine, Gil. “Zeev Raban and the Bezalel style,” (Jerusalem Post, 2001-14-12)
- Cohen, Nurit Shilo. The "Hebrew Style" of Bezalel, 1906-1929. The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts, Vol. 20. (1994), pp. 140–163
- Manor, Dalia. “Biblical Zionism in Bezalel Art,” Israel Studies 6.1 (2001) 55-75