The document discusses various forms of Jewish visual art including folk art like paper cuts, ritual art depicting ritual objects, and art by or about Judaism created by non-Jews. It provides examples of different Jewish artistic symbols and traditions like the Tree of Life, Shivitis meditation plaques, and Mizrah wall hangings indicating the direction of prayer. The document also profiles several famous Jewish artists from the early 20th century who lived and worked in Paris including Chagall, Modigliani, and Soutine and discusses some of their artistic contributions and styles. Finally, it shares information about several Jewish art museums located in New York City and Florida.

1. ARTalk Tuesday
Visual Art & Judaism

2. Jewish art can be
divided into categories:
folk art
such as paper-cuts
ritual art
artistic renditions of
ritual objects
art by Jews
and we’d like to add Art
about Judaism
created by non-Jews

3. • Tree of Life
• Shivitis
• Mizrah Plaques
• Artists
• Places
Tracy Ellyn

5. Etz Chaim, Hebrew for "tree of life,"
is a common term used in Judaism.
The expression, found in the Book of
Proverbs, is figuratively applied to
the Torah itself. Etz Chaim is also a
common name for yeshivas
and synagogues as well as for works
of Rabbinic literature.
The Tree of Life is a universal symbol
found in many spiritual and mythological
traditions around the world.
Etz Chaim, Hebrew for "tree of life,"
is a common term used in Judaism.
The expression, found in the Book of
Proverbs, is figuratively applied to
the Torah itself. Etz Chaim is also a
common name for yeshivas
and synagogues as well as for works
of Rabbinic literature.
The Tree of Life is a universal symbol
found in many spiritual and
mythological traditions around the
world.

7. Jewish mysticism depicts the tree of life in
the form of ten interconnected nodes, as
the central symbol of the Kabbalah. It
comprises the ten Sefirot powers in the
divine realm.

8. The tree of Life
has been depicted
in many forms.
The meaning is always
the same;
a pathway to a closer
relationship with God.

10. .
A GUIDE TO THE USE OF THE SHIVITI
by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
"Shiviti" comes from the sentence,
"I have set (shiviti) the Lord before me always."
Looking at a Shiviti is Name-gazing;
concentrating on the symbol of the Deity with a
focused gaze, until the distance between inside
and outside becomes obliterated, and what was
on the outside (the shiviti) becomes internalized.

11. Crop Many symbols and signs are
packed into this one image, and so
the practice involves taking one of
these at a time and treating it as a
doorway to awareness of the
divine.
To start, note that across the top of
the image is a line in Hebrew that
means: “Know before Whom you
stand.” Consider this a question.
Contemplate, what is the ultimate
Source in the universe? What is
the Presence that you appear
before every moment of your life?
How do you know “God”?

12. Shiviti HaShem l'negdi tamid
—“I place God before me
always.”
Subsequent generations
have recognized that this is a
practice. In fact, the holy is in
front of our eyes and nose
with every breath we take,
but do we see?
It takes a conscious act of
practice to renew the fresh
awareness that the Holy One
is in every moment. And the
outcome is awe.

13. Shivitis are painted as meditative
devices to renew the fresh
awareness that God is in every
moment. This practice is to
imprint in the mind the
impression of standing before
God. It becomes an experience,
and through continued practice
one’s awareness of God’s
presence is enhanced.
The experience or the practice
may mean something different
for each individual, but it will
always result in a discovery of
awareness.

14. In Eastern Europe, mizrah
plaques were often made out of
cut paper, resembling the carved
wood Torah arks of Polish
synagogues in the intricacy of
their design.
The composition in this papercut
is symmetrical, designed on one
half of a sheet of paper, folded
vertically, and cut out through
both halves.
.
Mizrah plaques were placed on the eastern
wall of the synagogue to indicate direction of
prayer towards Jerusalem.

15. The first mention of
Jewish paper cutting can
be found in the treatise
"The fight of the pen
and the scissors” by a
14th-century rabbi,
Shem Tov ben Isaac ben
Ardutiel (1290-1369),
who describes how he
decided to cut letters in
paper when his ink
became frozen during a
harsh winter.

16. Papercuts were
usually mounted
on a plain or
colored paper
background to
provide a
contrasting effect.

17. The Jewish School of Paris was located in Montparnasse on the
Left Bank of the Seine. Chagall, Modigliani, and Soutine lived there
in pre-war Paris.
At La Ruche the rent was
cheap; and no
one was evicted for non-
payment.
La Closerie des Lilas

18. Marc Chagall was a Russian-French artist of Belarusian Jewish
origin.
An early modernist, he was associated with several major artistic
styles (Cubism & Expressionism) and created works in a wide range
of artistic formats, including painting, drawings, book illustrations,
stained glass, stage sets, ceramic tapestries and fine art prints. “If I
were not a Jew, I would not be an artist,”
Moïche Zakharovitch Chagalov
1887 – 1985

19. Chaïm Soutine (1893 – 1943) was a
French painter of Lithuanian
Jewish origin. Soutine made a major
contribution to the expressionist
movement while living in Paris.
Inspired by classic painting in the
European tradition, Soutine developed
an individual style more concerned with
shape, color, and texture over
representation, which served as a
between more traditional approaches
and the developing form of Abstract
Expressionism.

20. Amedeo
Clemente
Modigliani
(1884 - 1920)
Italian
A painter and
sculptor,
Modigliani is
known for portraits
and nudes in a
modern style
characterized by
elongation of
faces, necks, and
figures.
During his early years in Paris, Modigliani worked at a furious pace. He was
constantly sketching, making as many as a hundred drawings a day. However,
many of his works were lost—destroyed by him as inferior, left behind in his
frequent changes of address, or given to girlfriends who did not keep them.

21. Adolf Fenyes (1867-1945,
Hungarian
Siblings, 1906
oil on canvas
Born in Kecskemét,
Hungary, Adolf Fényes was
one of his country’s most
distinguished Jewish
painters. The motifs of his
works can be considered a
metonym for the struggle
to create a Hungarian
Jewish identity, particularly
during the decades
immediately before and
following World War I.

22. Lucian Michael Freud, (1922 -
2011) British painter and draughtsman,
specializing in figurative art.
Known as one of the foremost 20th-
century portraitists. He was born in
Berlin, the son of Jewish architect Ernst
L. Freud and art historian Lucie Brasch
he is the grandson of Sigmund Freud.

23. Yaacov AGAM 1928-
Israeli artist AGAM, son of a Rabbi
and Kabbalist was born in Palestine.
He uses grids of painted strips that
incorporated different designs on
opposite sides created images that
merged and changed as spectators
shifted their viewing position (a type
of print that eventually became
known as an Agamograph).

24. Villa Regina
Jacob’s
Ladder

25. Rembrandt Van Rijn Kehinde Wiley

26. "The All-Seeing Eye of God Said It Was Good and He Rested." From Genesis. Tracy
Ellyn
Hadassah Medical Center – Jerusalem
https://www.tracyellyn-recentworks.com/

27. The Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU (JMOF-FIU) is the only museum
dedicated to telling the story of more than 250 years of Florida Jewish
history, arts and culture, with a growing collection of more than 100,000
items. The Museum is housed in two restored historic buildings that were
once synagogues for Miami Beach's first Jewish congregation.

28. Located on New York City’s Museum Mile, the Jewish Museum is a museum at
the intersection of art and Jewish culture for people of all backgrounds.
Founded in 1904, the Museum was the first institution of its kind in the United
States and one of the oldest Jewish museums in the world.
The Museum maintains a unique collection of nearly 30,000 works of art,
ceremonial objects, and media reflecting the global Jewish experience over
more than 4,000 years. Our distinguished exhibition history reveals a deep and
rich exploration of Jewish culture and identity, and includes some of the most
seminal exhibitions of the 20th and 21st centuries.

30. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-art-101/
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Jewish_paper_cutting
https://thejewishmuseum.org/
https://en.nicetourisme.com/nice/183-musee-national-marc-chagall
https://jmof.fiu.edu/
Learn More

32. Virtual ARTalk Tuesday
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