Yosl Bergner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yosl Bergner
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| Born | 13 October 1920 Vienna, Austria
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| Died | 18 January 2017 (aged 96) Tel Aviv, Israel
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| Nationality | Israeli |
| Known for | Painting, drawing |
Yosl Bergner (Hebrew: יוסל ברגנר) was a famous Israeli painter. He was born on October 13, 1920, in Vienna, Austria. He grew up in Warsaw, Poland. Later, he lived in Melbourne, Australia, from 1937 until 1948. After that, he moved to Israel, where he lived until he passed away on January 18, 2017.
Yosl Bergner's Life Story
Yosl Bergner was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1920. He spent his childhood years in Warsaw, Poland.
At that time, there was a lot of unfair treatment towards Jewish people in Europe. Because of this, a group called the Freeland League was created in the United States in 1935. This group wanted to find a safe place for Jewish people to live. Soon, a company in Australia offered the League a large area of land in the Kimberleys. This land stretched from Western Australia into the Northern Territory.
Even though these plans for a new home didn't work out, the idea was considered for a while. Yosl Bergner's father, Melech Ravitch, was very involved in looking into this "Kimberley Plan." This is how the Bergner family ended up moving to Australia.
Yosl moved to Australia in 1937. He studied art at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School in Melbourne. His studies were interrupted by World War II. He served in the Australian Army for four and a half years. After the war, he continued his art studies.
While living in Melbourne from 1937 to 1948, Bergner became good friends with many important Australian artists. These included Sidney Nolan, Albert Tucker, John Perceval, and Arthur Boyd. Bergner often visited their homes and they spent a lot of time together. He encouraged these artists to paint more than just landscapes. He helped them focus on showing the lives of working families. This had a big impact on modern Australian art.
Yosl Bergner deeply understood the struggles of people. He felt a strong connection between the suffering of different groups. This included the Jewish people he remembered from Europe, Indigenous Australians who had lost their land, and hungry children in Melbourne.
In 1948, he left Australia. He traveled and showed his art in Paris, Montreal, and New York City for two years. Then, he settled in Israel. He lived in Safed for some time. In 1957, he moved to Tel Aviv with his wife, who was also an artist named Audrey Bergner.
Yosl Bergner's Artworks
Yosl Bergner designed the backgrounds and costumes for plays. He worked for both Yiddish and Hebrew theatres. He especially worked on plays by Nisim Aloni. He also drew pictures for many books.
His most famous paintings are his allegorical works. In these paintings, he uses everyday kitchen items like squashed pots, oil lamps, and cracked jugs. He makes these objects seem like people. These old tools represent a world that is broken and poor, full of wars, secrets, and darkness. One of his students was Nurit Shany, who became a painter and a multi-talented Israeli artist.
Awards and Recognition
Yosl Bergner received several important awards for his art:
- In 1956, he was one of the winners of the Dizengoff Prize for painting.
- In 1980, he was given the Israel Prize for painting. This is one of the highest honors in Israel.
See also
- List of Israel Prize recipients
