Boris Schatz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Boris Schatz
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| Born | December 23, 1866 Varniai, Russian Empire
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| Died | March 23, 1932 (aged 65) |
Boris Schatz ([] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: no text (help)) was a talented Lithuanian Jewish artist and sculptor. He moved to Israel and became known as the "father of Israeli art." Schatz started a very important art school in Jerusalem called the Bezalel School. After he passed away, some of his amazing art collection helped create the Israel Museum.
Biography
Boris Schatz was born in Varniai, which is now part of Lithuania. His father was a teacher and sent him to study in a religious school. In 1883, Boris also started studying at the Vilnius School of Drawing.
In 1887, he met a famous Jewish sculptor named Mark Antokolsky. Boris showed him a small carving he had made. Antokolsky was impressed and helped Boris get money to study art. Boris then started teaching drawing in Vilnius.
In 1888, he moved to Warsaw and taught art in Jewish schools. He created his first sculpture there, called “Hendel.” In 1889, Boris married Eugenia (Genia) Zhirmunsky. They moved to Paris so Boris could study painting and sculpture.
Later, Boris moved to Sofia, Bulgaria. His daughter, Angelika, was born there in 1897. Boris and Genia later separated, and Angelika lived with her mother.
In 1904, Boris traveled to the United States for an exhibition. When he returned to Sofia, he met Theodora (Dora) Gabe, who later became a famous Bulgarian writer.
In 1905, Schatz moved to Berlin. There, he met Ephraim Moses Lilien, an artist, and other important people like Franz Oppenheimer and Otto Warburg. They loved his idea of starting an art school in Jerusalem. The plan to create the Bezalel School was officially announced on October 8, 1905.
In 1911, Schatz married Olga Pevzner, who was a writer and art history teacher. Their children, Zahara Schatz and Bezalel Schatz, also became artists. Angelika, his daughter from his first marriage, also became a painter.
In 1955, Boris's daughter Zahara received the Israel Prize for Art. This award recognized the artistic contributions of the whole Schatz family.
Boris Schatz passed away in 1932 while he was in Denver, Colorado, trying to raise money for his art school. His body was brought back to Jerusalem and buried on the Mount of Olives.
Art Career
In 1895, Prince Ferdinand I of Bulgaria invited Boris Schatz to Bulgaria. Boris became the official court sculptor and helped start the country's Royal Academy of Art. In 1900, he won a gold medal for his statue called Bust of an Old Woman.
In 1903, Boris met Theodor Herzl, a leader of Zionism. Boris became a strong supporter of Zionism, which is the movement to create a Jewish homeland.
At a big Zionist meeting in 1905, Boris suggested creating a Jewish art school. In 1906, he opened an art center in Jerusalem. He named it "Bezalel" after Bezalel Ben Uri, a skilled artisan from the Bible. Bezalel designed the Tabernacle and its special objects.
In the years that followed, Boris organized art shows for his students in Europe and the United States. These were the first international shows of Jewish artists from Palestine.
Boris Schatz was a very passionate person. In his will, he thanked his teachers and assistants at Bezalel. He also asked for forgiveness if he was too strict. He felt that Bezalel was ahead of its time and that people didn't fully understand its importance yet.
Bezalel Art School
The Bezalel art school opened in Jerusalem in 1906. The school's main goals were:
- To teach crafts to the people of Jerusalem.
- To create unique Jewish art.
- To support Jewish artists.
- To combine European art styles with Jewish art traditions from the East and West.
- To connect art with the culture of the Land of Israel.
In 1908, the school moved to a bigger building. This allowed them to open more departments and offer more types of art classes.
Boris Schatz bought three buildings for the school. One was his home, and the other two housed the art school and a national art museum. Bezalel was set up like other arts and crafts schools in Russia. Its motto was: "Art is the bud, craft is the fruit." The school taught painting and sculpture, along with crafts like carpet making, metalworking, and woodcarving.
The school faced money problems and closed in 1929. Boris Schatz died while trying to raise funds for it in the United States. The Bezalel school reopened in 1935 as the New Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts.
Awards
Boris Schatz received several awards for his art:
- 1898: Silver medal in Science and Art in Sofia, Bulgaria.
- 1900: Gold medal for his Bust of an Old Woman.
- 1900: Silver medal at the Exposition Internationale in Paris.
- 1904: Silver medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri.
Published Works
Boris Schatz also wrote books:
- On Art, Artists and their Critics (in Hebrew), published in 1924.
- The Rebuilt Jerusalem: The Rebuilt Reality (in Hebrew), published in 1924. This was a futuristic novel where a biblical architect visits the Bezalel School.
See also
In Spanish: Boris Schatz para niños
