Histadrut Art Studio

Histadrut Art Studio הסטודיו לציור של ההסתדרות
Address
Yavne Street, Tel Aviv Tel Aviv , Israel
Information
Other name	Frenkel's Art Studio
School type	Art Studio
Established	1925 C
Founder	Isaac Frenkel
Closed	1929 C
Director	Isaac Frenkel

Modern Artists Exhibition at the Ohel Theatre, the Histadrut Art Studio played a major role in the exposition.

The Histadrut studio of art was the first art academy in Tel Aviv in Mandatory Palestine. ^[1] Founded by Isaac Frenkel Frenel, it was active from 1926 to 1929. ^[2] The Jewish labour union known as the Histadrut provided some funding and therefore the studio used the Histadrut name. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]}

History

Modern Artists' exhibition, Ohel theatre, 1926

The art school was the first in Israel to adapt and teach modern art trends. ^{[10] [1]} It was particularly influenced by modern French art and the School of Paris. Isaac Frenkel, who studied in Paris, taught his students the modern Parisian art trends. ^[11] Frenkel presented a modernist alternative to Bezalel's (a Jerusalem art school) Orientalist style. ^{[12] [13]} The art studio was one of many catalysts to Tel Aviv's rise in cultural prominence in the Yishuv; ^[14] the studio's role was especially prominent in the sphere of art. Several Bezalel students would join the studio during the weekends in order to learn the new modern French art from Frenkel. These students include Moshe Castel, Avigdor Stematsky, Ziona Tagger, and, Yehezkel Streichman. ^[1]

In September 1927 the studio was made up of 17 students of whom 6 were female. Due to the extreme poverty of his students, Frenkel did not even demand one grush in payment. ^[15]

Artistic Style and Teachings

The art studio emphasized the use of modern techniques in painting. Furthermore, at the studio, reproductions of Modern artists such as Van Gogh, Degas, Cezanne and others were shown in the class. Some of these were the only reproductions of these artists available in Mandatory Palestine. ^[3] Only 3 such reproductions were available in Tel Aviv in the beginning, one of Van Gogh, of Cezanne and Gaugin. ^[14] The school taught Post-Impressionism, unknown at the time in Mandatory-Palestine. ^[15]

The artists were also exposed to the ideas and works of living artists, especially the Jewish artists of the Ecole de Paris, which include: Chaim Soutine, Michel Kikoine, Jules Pascin and others. ^[3]

Frenkel, through his studio, encouraged the young students to travel to France following their studies in the studio. In the 1920s and 30s, a wave of students from the Histadrut Art studio left Mandatory Palestine to study in Paris, returning home a few years later and augmenting the influence of French art in the Jewish Yishuv. ^[3]

Exhibitions

Frenkel's studio participated in several major art exhibitions during the 1920s, including the Modern Artists Exhibition in the Ohel theatre and the tower of David exhibitions. ^[16] In the Modern Artists' Exhibition they presented "New art" for a "New society". ^[14]

The Histadrut Art Studio also presented its works in the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium, but several of the young artists were unable to frame their paintings due to their poverty. ^[14]

Students

• Shimshon Holzman
• Yosef Kossonogi
• Mordechai Levanon
• Arieh Navon
• Avigdor Stematsky
• Genia Berger
• Moshe Castel
• Yechekzel Streichman
• David Hendler

References

1. "New art exhibit salutes work of pioneer Isaac Alexander Frenkel". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
2. "Alexandre FRENEL". Bureau d’art Ecole de Paris. 2019-01-02. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
3. "ABOUT". Frenel Museum. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
4. Shava, Shlomo (30 June 1972). "Tiaras in the skies of Neve Shalom". Dvar (in Hebrew).
5. "Introduction: Our lives demand Art". kotar.cet.ac.il (in Hebrew). p. 3. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
6. בלס, גילה; Balas, Gila (1978). "The Jacob Pereman Collection and the Beginnings of Modern Painting in Eretz-Israel (1920—1922) / אוסף יעקב פרמן וראשית הציור המודרני בארץ-ישראל (1920—1922)". Cathedra: For the History of Eretz Israel and Its Yishuv / קתדרה: לתולדות ארץ ישראל ויישובה (7): 177–202. ISSN   0334-4657. JSTOR   23398334.
7. טרכטנברג, גרסיאלה; Trajtenberg, Graciela (2002). "The Pre-State Jewish Bourgeoisie and the Institutionalization of the Field of Plastic Art / בין בורגנות לאמנות פלסטית בתקופת היישוב". Israeli Sociology / סוציולוגיה ישראלית. ד (1): 7–38. ISSN   1565-1495. JSTOR   23442346.
8. "נשים עובדות בשדה". www.montefiore.co.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-10-27.
9. שץ, אורן (2014-08-23). "מרדכי לבנון (1901 – 1968)". עסקי אמנות (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-10-27.
10. "Abstract Alexander Frenel Frenkel was the first abstract painter in Israel. He learned his art from Paris in the twenties. When he exhibited at the "salon des independants" in 1924 in Paris, Mondrian acquired two of his paintings for an English collection". www.frenkel-frenel.org. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
11. Perry-Helman, Mayra; Perry-Lehmann, Meira (1998). Dipped in water, dipped in light, one hundred years of watercolors in Israel (in Hebrew). Israel, Jerusalem: Israel Museum. ISBN   978-965-278-221-2.
12. "Abstract Alexander Frenel Frenkel was the first abstract painter in Israel. He learned his art from Paris in the twenties. When he exhibited at the "salon des independants" in 1924 in Paris, Mondrian acquired two of his paintings for an English collectionor". www.frenkel-frenel.org. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
13. "Frenel, Yitzhak or Isaac, Alexandre; real name Isaac Frenel-Fraenkel". 31 October 2011. doi:10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.B00068047.
14. Ofrat, Gideon (23 November 1979). "Enough with all the Frenkels!". Haaretz Weekly. pp. 28, 29, 30.
15. Barzel, Amnon (1972). "Scorching Nudes in Safed". Haaretz . pp. 27–29, 48.
16. "1884 | Encyclopedia of the Founders and Builders of Israel". www.tidhar.tourolib.org. Retrieved 2023-10-14.