2/2 | Birthday of Issachar Ber Ryback
Today in Yiddishkayt… February 2 Birthday of Issachar Ber Ryback, Artist Artist Issachar (Yissokher or Soukher) Ber Ryback was born on February 2, 1897 in Elisavetgrad (today Кіровоград, Ukraine). He studied at the Art Academy of Kiev and, following the revolution in 1917, was active in developing contemporary Yiddish culture in Ukraine. Moving between Berlin, Moscow, and Paris, Ryback cultivated a unique style of Russian Jewish modernism, using Jewish folk motifs — Jewish letters, icons, and artifacts as a basis for creativity. Ryback died in Paris on December 22,...
Read More1/22 | Birthday of Moïse Kisling
Today in Yiddishkayt… January 22 Birthday of Moïse Kisling, Artist Moïse Kisling was born in Krakow, Galicia (now Poland) on January 22, 1891. He began to draw as a very young child and entered the Art Academy of Krakow when he was fifteen. He studied under a professor who introduced him to French Impressionism and encouraged him to go to Paris. In the 1890s artists coming to Paris began to settle in le Bateau-Lavoir, a commune in the Montmartre area where small studios were rented. It became a haven for Fauvists and Cubists. Among other artists, André Derain, Henri...
Read More1/3 | Yortsayt of Ber Zalkind
Today in Yiddishkayt… January 3 Yortsayt of Ber Zalkind, Artist Ber Zalkind was born in 1878 in the city of Vilna and died 68 years ago today on January 3, 1944 near Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Zalkind was a major part of the visual art scene in his hometown. As a young man, he studied painting in Paris where he was hevily influenced by Impressionism. Hee returned to Vilna where he helped found the Vilna Arts Society and served as its secretary. Zalkind also taught at the city’s schools and was an art critic for the Vilner Tog and Etyudn both based in Vilna, and wrote essays on art and...
Read More12/16 | Birthday of Henekh Barciński
Today in Yiddishkayt… December 16 Birthday of Painter Henryk (Henekh) Barciński The Polish-Jewish painter, printmaker, and illustrator Henekh Barciński was born to a family of poor tailors on December 15, 1896 in Łódz. Along with a group of great Jewish poets, playwrights, and artists, he was a founding member of the Łódz-based avant-garde art group Yung Yidish. Influenced by the artists Oskar Kokochka and Marc Chagall, Barciński studied with the sculptor Henryk Glicenstein, a friend of Auguste Rodin. He received the first prize at the Red Cross Competition in Paris. Yung...
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