COMPLIMENTARY COPY
Published Weekly By Joel Sater Publications www.antiquesandauctionnews.net
VOL. 43, NO. 49 FRIDAY DECEMBER 7, 2012
Wolpert And Gumbel Pioneers Of Modern Judaica D
avid Heinz Gumbel (19061992) and Ludwig Yehuda Wolpert (1900-1981) were among the first silversmiths to bring Modernism’s International style to the Land of Israel. For over four decades they c r e a t e d smooth, simp l e , unadorned o b j e c t s whose beauty was the beauty of their proportions, of the materials from which they were David H. Gumbel Hanukkah Lamp, late 1940s. Collection of Peachy and Mark Levy, Sanata Monica
fashioned, and of their perfect finish. Their work tells the story of the genesis of modern Judaica design in Israel. In the first half of the 20th century, as a result of wide-ranging political, social, and technological changes, a new spirit of Modernism swept over Europe. Artists in all kinds of fields rejected the existing order, promoted progress, and firmly believed that art allied with industry could usher in a better future. Wolpert and Gumbel shared a vision to renew the design of Jewish ceremonial objects by fusing function, style, beauty, and Jewish-Israeli artistic expression. Both men emigrated from Germany to the Land of Israel in the mid1930s. At the time, local markets w e r e flooded with eastern-
Jerusalem. The school’s aim was to train artists and designers whose work would improve popular taste and create
Wolpert’s work became well texts, a practice he began early in known in the his career in Germany. Ritual U n i t e d objects such as candlesticks and Kiddush cups inscribed with biblical texts became increasingly popular as a symbols of a renewed betJewish spirituality, aesLudwig Y. thetic values and pride t e r W o l p e r t in Jewish heritage. living Hanukkah enviG u m b e l lamp, 1958, remained r o n in brass, bent. m e n t . The Israel Jerusalem, trainTeachers at M u s e u m , ing silversmiths the New Jerusalem. Gift of Dr. in his techBezalel taught in Abram Kanof and Dr. n i q u e s . the spirit of Frances Pascher H i s Kanof, New York. w o r k s Modernism and the were reguBauhaus, the Stated follow- larly cominfluential ing his missioned by school of art and design appointment in 1956 as the head Israel’s offithat had opened in Weimar, the Tobe Pascher Workshop for cial instituGermany, in 1919. Wolpert M o d e r n tions and presented as gifts to and Gumbel’s world leaders and dignitaries. unique Perhaps the most famous of his commissioned works on display in “Forging Ahead” is the case created to house approach Israel’s Declaration of Ludwig Y. Wolpert Hanukkah lamp. First half of the 1950s, brass, spun. The to the design of Independence (1949), a Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Gift of Anna and Jewish ceremonismooth silver cylinder al objects crystal- Lamberto Perugia, Rome, in honor of their six grandchildren. adorned with the symbol of lized during the new State of Israel. In those years. Judaica at the Jewish Museum in August, 1949 the Prime Minister’s While Wolpert focused on New York, a position he held until Office contacted the New Bezalel industrial design and Gumbel on his death. Many synagogues and school and commissioned the handicraft, they both shared guid- private collectors acquired his design of the special silver case. ing principles that included: a pro- Torah arks, Hanukkah lamps, and Because of the commission’s comfound understanding of material other ritual objects, which they plexity and national importance, and its qualities, a sense that there valued not only the task was entrusted to David should be a harmonious relationas useful Gumbel himself rather than to one ship between matter and form, and the importance of incorporating quotations from the David H. GumbelCase for declaration of independence scroll 1949, silver hammered and cut 43.3x10.6. Israel state archive, Jerusalem.
Bible and other Jewish texts in newly-created, modern Hebrew fonts. An exhibition titled, “Forging Ahead: Wolpert and Gumbel, Israeli Silversmiths for the Modern Age,” on view through April 6, 2013, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, illuminates the stylistic evolution of these two visionaries. “Forging Ahead” brings together 80 works, many of which have never been publicly displayed. The exhibit presents for the first time Wolpert and Gumbel’s work from their early days in Germany, through their Ludwig Y. Wolpert Candlesticks circa 1960, silver, spun, hammered, and cut creative years as professional Hebrew inscription: “Rouse yourself! designers and teachers in Israel, Rouse yourself! Your light is coming, and up to the last chapter in rise up and shine” (from “Lekhah their prolific careers, when their Dodi”). Collection of the Gross family, influence crossed borders and Tel Aviv. they were able to witness their heritage being carried on by a style filigree items and Jewish cer- new generation of designers. emonial objects characterized by a This is the first exhibition to traditional design and adorned focus on the work of David with a host of Jewish symbols. Gumbel, presenting 40 of his Together with other visionary works alongside 26 works by artists, Wolpert and Gumbel Wolpert, in addition to preparatory helped found the New Bezalel sketches and works by select stuSchool of Arts and Crafts in dents of the master craftsmen.
Ludwig Y. Wolpert, Hanukkah lamp, circa 1953, nickel silver and glass. Willy Lindwer Collection, Jerusalem.
bers of the People’s Council in the city of Tel Aviv on Sabbath eve, 5 Iyyar, 5708.” Above the state symbol appears the quotation “Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself, Isaiah 60:20.” This v e r s e , which is taken from Isaiah’s vision and describes the light of the End of Days - the light of a sun and moon that never set and, above all, the divine light - encapsulates the sense of exaltation and redemption engendered by the declaration of the state and the realization of the Zionist vision. Although it was common practice at the New Bezalel to incorporate quotations from the Jewish sources, this particular verse was not selected by Gumbel but communicated to him by the Prime Minister’s Office (Israel State Archives). This is evident from his preparatory sketches, where the space for the quotation is indicated by scribbling. Works by both Wolpert and Gumbel continue to command strong interest from collectors and
The New Bezalel: Between Handicraft and Industry
In the early 1930s there was no academy of art in the Land of Israel. The Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts, that “temple in the desert” founded by Boris Schatz in 1906 in Jerusalem, had closed its doors in 1929. For some three years, until his death, Schatz tried to raise funds to reopen the school, but without success. The Polish-born artist Josef Budko, who immigrated to Palestine in 1933, began shortly thereafter to prepare for the school’s reopening in a completely different guise. Members of the new board included Zionist leaders, doctors, intellectuals, and artists, most of whom were of German origin. They wanted to found an institution that would train its students to become designers who would imbue this new country, its industry, and its growing population with fine taste in the spirit of the modern style with which they were familiar from Europe. The name “New Bezalel” was chosen in order to distinguish the new school from Schatz’s Bezalel. The New Bezalel opened in 1935. Budko served as its director until his untimely death in 1940, when Mordecai Ardon-Bronstein, a former Bauhaus student who had taught art at the school, took over. Wolpert taught at the New Bezalel since its inception, specializing in the production of ceremonial objects and in the use of the spinning technique, and Gumbel, who joined a few months later, taught the design of handcrafted jewelry and specialized in the raising-hammering technique. Both Wolpert and Gumbel brought with them the modernist style, which was deeply anchored in the spirit of the Bauhaus and other concurrently influential schools in central Europe. Yet although both were guided by the same principles and by the ideal of allying design with industry, they represented two distinct approaches to the craft of silversmithing: Wolpert supported industrial design, while Gumbel preferred the creation of individually handcrafted objects. Wolpert and Gumbel headed the New Bezalel’s Metalwork Department for over twenty years. They were succeeded by their former students who followed in their footsteps, and their spirit thus continued to inhabit the department long after they themselves had left it. J u d a i c a objects, but also as examples of beautiful Modern design. American collectors also appreciated his work because of his trademark integration of Hebrew letters and
of his students, and he designed the smooth silver cylinder adorned with the symbol of the new State of Israel. The top of the lid bears the inscription “Independence Scroll,” and beneath the state symbol the words “Signed by mem-
dealers throughout the world, but their impact goes well beyond their own works. As the heads of the Metalwork Department of New Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts, from 1936-1956, the two (Continued on page 2)