The sculptor and painter Avraham Melnikov was born in Bessarabia. While studying medicine, he decided to become an artist. When his parents refused to support him, he moved to Chicago, where a brother lived. He fought with the Jewish Legion in Palestine during World War I and remained there after being demobilized. His monumental statute at Tel Hai, with its notable evocation of Mesopotamian art, is his most famous work. After its completion, he left for England, where he remained for the next twenty-five years, returning to Israel only a few months before he died. In England, he made a reputation for himself as a portrait painter.
My heart is seeking out the Lord, and to Almighty God I pray
That He come back unto the altar, shelter me beneath His shade,
And that He settle Israel’s throngs in a tranquil dwelling place.
In…
Laws of Hammurabi on Babylonian Stela, eighteenth century BCE. The stela was originally placed in the temple of the god Marduk in the city of Babylon. Inset shows part of the prologue.
Though better known for his political cartoons, Gropper was also an acclaimed painter. This painting was probably inspired by the Spanish Civil War, and its title, Minorities, suggests that the…