Boris Schatz, the Father of Israeli Art

Visionary and man of action, the Russian-born Jewish sculptor Boris Schatz (1867-1932) was responsible for the realization of the early Zionist movement's most ambitious cultural project: in 1906 he founded the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem, today the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, and laid the basis for the Bezalel National Museum, the forerunner of the Israel Museum. The exhibition, which inaugurates the celebration of Bezalel's Centenary, presents paintings and sculptures by Schatz: works he created while serving as court artist to the Prince of Bulgaria at the turn of the century, on display in Israel for the first time; depictions of scriptural heroes and of contemporary Jewish life; and portraits of prominent figures. It also highlights some of the most important works created in the Bezalel workshops during Schatz's time. A retrospective exhibition of the work of Boris's son, the painter, sculptor, and graphic designer Bezalel Schatz, who made a seminal contribution to the decorative arts in Israel, will open at the Jerusalem Artists' House on January 28.