Boris Schatz was born in Lithuania in 1866. An artist in his own right, he lived and worked in many different cities across Europe before settling down in Jerusalem in 1906. This is the year he started Bezalel. Sometimes more visionary than artist, Schatz admired Italian renaissance work and imagined Art Nouveau as a revival…
In 1906, Boris Schatz founded the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem. Schatz named his school after Bezalel from the Bible who was the architect and artist of the Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant. Schatz envisioned his school to play just as important a role. This school would teach all types of…
Art Nouveau, sometimes called Jugendstil, was a style of art popular from around 1890 to the first World War. This style coincides with what is known as the Belle Epoque. This is a French term that describes a time of cultural flourishing, peace, prosperity and artistic freedom. It is as easy to understand what Art…
When speaking about Judaic art, you cannot start at the beginning. It would take too long! Instead, the best place to start will be near the end of the nineteenth century. This is the time in history that Zionism was beginning to gain real traction. Zionism is the belief that Jewish people have a God…
In 1906, a man named Boris Schatz created his life’s work with an art school in Jerusalem named The Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts. A Zionist, Schatz hoped to use the school to make items of Judaica that would further the Jewish cause to regain Palestine. He believed that the Bezalel school went hand…