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Man with Bent Thumb
Nadel, Arno1878/1943
Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History
New York, United States
Portrait of a man viewed from the waist up, with his arms resting on surface in front of him. He is bare chested.
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Details
- Title: Man with Bent Thumb
- Creator: Nadel, Arno
- Creator Lifespan: 1878/1943
- Date Created: 1878/1943
- Repository: Leo Baeck Institute at the Center for Jewish History
- Physical Dimensions: w73 x h94.2 cm
- Artist Biography: Arno Nadel (1878Â1943), born Vilna, Lithuania, a composer, arranger, conductor, writer, poet and painter; he also dedicated himself to the collection of both Eastern European folk songs and old manuscripts of Jewish liturgical music, and in 1916 he was appointed as Kapellmeister of the Berlin Jewish community. (The Prelude to the film Hebräische Melodie is one of his few works to be recorded.) He was able to obtain an exit visa to England but was too weak and dispirited to make the journey after his incarceration in the concentration camp of Buchenwald. In one of his last letters before begin deported to Auschwitz in 1943, he wrote: "May God protect holy Germany! It is the wisest nation of poets and philosophers, but has been misled  only after bloody detours and errors will it attain freedom of spirit and of noble art." Despite his tragic belief in Germany, Nadel could not escape his fate  he died at Auschwitz. He shared with many German artists of Jewish origin the same fate, the same passion for music, and the belief in "their country."
- Type: Drawing
- Rights: This material may be used for personal, research, and educational purposes only. Any other use without prior authorization is prohibited. Please contact LBI librarians at lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org for further information.
- External Link: LBI Art Collection, Center for Jewish History
- Medium: Pastel on paper
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