FRENCH JEWISH Artist ~ HASIDIM IN POLAND ~ c1924 Illustration IN THE PALE

Description: A very interesting hand drawn social realist drawing depicting a Hasidic Jewish man involved in an interview or transaction in an office. The artist, Lucien Madrassi (1881-1956), has managed to convey a real sense of unease in the man in this simply rendered conte crayon drawing. The scene was likely witnessed in Krakow, Poland in 1924. Madrassi was there to sketch in advance of suite of etchings depicting the lives of Polish, Ukrainian and Russian Jews in the Pale of Settlement for the book "Un Royaume De Dieu" (The Kingdom of God: the Jews of Eastern Europe and Russia) by Jerome & Jean Tharaud, published by Lapina, Paris, in 1925. Madrassi produced 86 etchings to illustrate this limited edition work. I do not know if this sketch was developed into an etching and included in the publication. The piece is matted and framed under glass in an what seems a period frame. It measures 4 x 6 1/2 inches, with frame 8 3/4 x 10 1/2 inches, and it is signed with initials. Some light foxing to the drawing and mat, otherwise it is in fine condition. Not examined out of frame. Ludovic Lucien Madrassi was born in Paris in 1881 and became a member of the Salon des Artistes Français in 1906. Madrassi was a skilled draughtsman and printmaker, his illustrations for "Un Royaume de Dieu", form a precious record of the lives of the Jews of Eastern Europe; Madrassi could not have imagined that he was recording a way of life soon to be cruelly destroyed. In 1928, shortly after making these beautiful and intimate artworks, Lucien Madrassi won the Prix Puvis de Chavannes. In 1946, he was elected vice-president of the National Society of Fine Arts. Lucien Madrassi died in 1956. (biographical information courtesy of Hester Gallery)

Price: 165 USD

Location: Brooksville, Florida

End Time: 2024-08-14T00:41:24.000Z

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