The Four Sons

Arthur Szyk

1934

Image of four panels with man in each panel: one in moustache and riding outfit; one wearing sidelocks, kippah, and suit; one muscled in boots; and one with short sidelocks, hat, and wide stance, all surrounded by decorated border and labeled in Yiddish.

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From the Curator

The Passover ritual considers how four sons—known as the smart, the simple, the wicked, and the one who doesn’t know how to ask—might ask a question to prompt the telling of the Exodus story. The leader is then expected to tell the story in a way that would speak to all four sons. This 1934 illustration for a Passover Haggadah clearly reflects on the meaning of telling the Passover story shortly after Hitler’s rise to power. Note the depiction of the “wicked” son as emulating Hitler’s appearance in the upper left corner. The wise son appears in the upper right corner, with the simple son on the bottom right and the son who does not know how to ask on the bottom left.

Discussion Questions

Which of these four images strikes you as the one the artist had the most respect for?
What do you think is going through the mind of the child who does not know how to ask the question?
How might the Seder leader tell the story of the Exodus to an assimilated Jew who continues to emulate Hitler’s appearance?

Creator Bio

Arthur Szyk

1894–1951

Arthur Szyk was born in Łódź and studied art in Paris and Kraków. He worked primarily as an illustrator, illuminator, and caricaturist. In the interwar period, he divided his time between Poland and Western Europe, and from 1940 on, he lived in the United States. His style was influenced by medieval illuminated manuscripts and Persian miniatures. Much of his work addressed the themes of antisemitism and Jewish resistance. During World War II, he produced a series of powerful anti-Axis caricatures, portraying the Germans and their allies grotesquely.

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The Four Sons

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The Four Sons

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