Exhibition : 8th August 2008 – 20th September 2008
The Ecole de Paris and Israeli Art

A selection of new works with a focus on the Ecole de Paris and Israeli art

The Ecole de Paris refers not so much to an art movement as to an event in art history - the coming together in the years from 1900-1939 of foreign artists, predominantly Jewish, drawn to the cultural centre that Paris had become and where they were able to enjoy civil rights and a liberal atmosphere denied them in their native coutries. Based around Montparnasse, these artists, too many to name but including the likes of Chagall, Soutine, Kikoine, Mané-Katz and Frenel produced some of the most exciting art of the C20th until the movement was abruptly and tragically broken up by the Nazis. Many of the artists died in concentration camps and their works were destroyed.

Many of the Ecole de Paris artists emigrated to Israel where the spirit of the movement continued to flourish. We are pleased to have acquired a fine oil of La Rochelle by Isaac Frenel, one of the leading artists of the Ecole de Paris who studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, la Grande Chaumière and at the studio of Matisse, tutored many notable artists including Stematsky, Kossonogi and Castel and has a museum dedicated to his memory where his works are displayed. Of the other Israeli artists represented, Ovadyahu, Ra’ayoni (whose still-lifes are magnificent examples of the genre) Rodan and Kapelyan are known to have studied in or visited France and the Expressionist style is apparent in all these works.