Arts 201, Group 2

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This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.

Our Group Two Art Exhibition stems directly from works of art found in the Jewish Museum in Prague.The artwork represented varies greatly in form, style, expression, material, and many other artistic variations. The art of the Jewish people ranges across many mediums and has been influenced by cultures and time since the founding of the Jewish people. The pieces in our collection include excerpts from diaries, music, drawings, sculptors and postcards. You will find metal chalices alongside woven fabrics, coupled with children's art and topped off with a sword or two. It will not take long before you will begin to ask what brings all of these pieces together? Our exhibition highlights pieces of art from an expanse of years but revolves around the Jewish culture of Czechoslovakia. We have pieces that are pre-1900 and a large collection of the effects of the Jewish people taken during World War II. All of our pieces come together on common ground, they are art created by Jewish people from Czechoslovakia and show the eventual influence they had on their community and the world. Some pieces tell stories from the ghettos of Terezin where their artists were forced to live during the Holocaust. Eventually, many of them lost their lives in concentration camps, but their art lives beyond them, reminding us of the influence one individual had on the children of the ghetto through teaching art. They tell a story of an oppressed people who still had hope and joy through the horrible circumstances in which they lived. They faced all sorts of adversity but used art as an escape from the reality of war that surrounded them. Art was a release, an expression, a way of therapy. The art also served as a reminder to the Jewish people that they were not alone and that God had chosen them. Some of the pieces were used in everyday life, other pieces are used to capture a fleeting moment in time. Many of the works of art we studied were items seized from their Jewish owners upon their deportation. During the Nazi occupation, the Jewish community in Prague was forced to assist in the seizure of property of deported Jews. Synagogues were used as storage depots of these items. Property that was left was redistributed to the Germans. On June 17, 1942, the government ordered a transfer of the archives and religious objects taken from Jewish congregations to the capitol where they were stored in a former Jewish school in Old Town. Dr. Karel Stein of the provincial department of the Jewish Congregation of Prague suggested that this huge collection of material be the basis for a Central Jewish Museum and be combined with the Jewish Museum of Prague founded in 1906. The concept of the current Jewish Museum of Prague was born. The Nazi regime's original conception for this museum was to showcase an exterminated people. Thank God they did not accomplish this grisly intent. It now stands as a testament to the horror of the holocaust. Our hope is that you will learn about art, but more about a group of Jewish people who lived in this one little area of the world, and how they expressed themselves as a people and their culture.

Lady in a Car (Self-Portrait of the Artist), Friedl Dicker Brandeis (July 30, 1898, Vienna — October 9, 1944 Auschwitz-Birkenau), 1940, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague

This self-portrait of Dicker-Brandeis is haunting and darker in comparison to her earlier works. However, this piece represents the affect the world and culture around her was having on her artwork.

Night, Helena Mändl (May 21, 1930, Prague — March 8, 1944, Auschwitz-Birkenau), 1943, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague

Helena Mandlova was one of the many students of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis during the Nazi takeover of Western Europe. Helena took art lessons from Dicker-Brandeis while living in the Terezin ghetto.

Village Surrounded by Fields, Hanuš Richard Weinberg (August 18, 1931, Ústí nad Orlicí — March 8, 1944, Auschwitz-Birkenau), 1943, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague

Weinburg was another student privileged to sit under Dicker-Brandeis' teaching as she strived to strengthen his interpersonal relationships and social skills within the ghetto.

Spilled Milk (Distribution of Milk in the Historical District of Josefov), Alexander Jakesch (June 9, 1862, Prague — February 6, 1934, Prague), 1889, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague

Spilled Milk is an oil on canvas painting, measuring 86.5 by 121.5 cm. It was created by Alexander Jakesch, a painter, graphic artist, and sculptor who made his living as an educator and portrait painter. This work, depicts Prague's Jewish quarter a few year before the Prague Urban Renewal (slum clearance.) It shows the social reality of the Jewish ghetto.

Sorting confiscated textiles in the Spanish Synagogue in Prague, 1943-1944, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague

Negative No. 3647. The author of this photograph is not known. It is part of a large Photography Collection housed in the Jewish Museum in Progue from 1943-1944, recording the events of Nazi occupation. During said occupation, the Jewish community in Progue was forced to assist in the seizure, cataloging and storage of property belonging to deported Jews. Many synagogues were used to store these items.

A boy stands by a cart loaded with luggage for the transport, 1941-1943, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague

Photography Collection, Negative No. 20358. The photographer is not known. Anti-Jewish laws and regulations excluded Jewish citizens from all areas of public life. The Jewish residents were deported to ghettos, concentration camps and death camps. Before being deported, Jews had to turn over their house keys and were allowed to take a limited amount of luggage weighing no more than 50 kg.

Klepy, Magazine published by Jewish youth from České Budějovice, Rudolf Stadler, 1940-1941, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague

The Klepy, illegal newspaper was formed by Jewish youth under Nazi oppression as an outlet for important societal matters. The youth involved in the paper met at the local swimming pool.

Postcard from the Theresienstadt Ghetto, Otto Taussig, 1942-05-18, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague

This postcard was sent by Otto Taussig to his brother from the Terezín ghetto. The postcard states that Otto is weak from pneumonia and that their uncle has died.

Immediately following Hitler's rise to power, Jewish rites were stripped away. Among these was the ability of those in the city to exercise basic human rights such as going to the park.

Emblem of the Jewish Butcher’s Guild, 1620, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague

The Emblem of the Jewish Butchers Guild is a large and key shaped. It was made in 1620 in Prague, Bohemia, the artist is unknown. The Emblem is cast and engraved pewter measuring 1135 x 350mm.

Kiddush Cup owned by the Maharal of Prague, c.1600, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague

The Kiddush Cup of the Maharal of Prague is a hammered, chased and gilt silver cup that is 176 x 81 mm the creator of the cup in unknown. Crafted in Central Europe around the turn of the 17th century.

Shiviti Plaque from Frýdek-Místek, secondary used as the door of a Torah ark, 1880, additions 1913, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague

Silver plated, brass hammered and chased, wood. The Shiviti Plaque is 1245 x 605 mm, the artist of this piece is unknown but it was crafted between the years 1880-1913 in Moravia. Acquired 1942-45.

Zoological Garden, Georg Kars (May 2, 1880, Kralupy nad Vltavou— February 5, 1945, Geneva), 1906, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague

"In a Park" by Georg Kars is a painting of a beautiful urban park in Hamburg. The style of this painting is modeled off of the impressionism of Max Liebermann, Kars' greatest influence for this piece. This piece is also part of a collection of paintings that Kars made of many parks and cityscapes throughout Europe, including places in Germany, France, Spain and Portugal. All of these pieces he painted had a similar impressionistic style and included similar applications in the paint and vibrant grays and greens. This particular piece was one of his earliest impressionistic paintings and seen as also one of his best. This style was something he developed after he completed his studies at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany. There he worked with other artists such as Eugen von Kahler, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky and Jules Pascin and studied Liebermann and his impressionistic style. Kars had great ties to Prague and the Czech people, and stayed connected to the art community there even when he was travelling in other countries.

Manuscript of the composition Dawn by Egon Ledeč, 1935, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague

The musical piece "Dawn" by Egon Ledec is a manuscript created sometime during the dawn of World War II. Egon made this piece to show his optimism that the world could still remain at peace, though turmoil and tension was starting to rise between nations in Europe. He made this musical piece as a monologue after the famous poem, "Eternal Soldier" by Fran Sramek. He only sketched out this piece and decided to change the title of the poem because of the optimism he felt regarding the rising war. This is the only form this musical artwork exists in. It is not certain when this piece was created, however it is known that it was sometime after 1935. Leading up to this piece, Egon had a pretty impressive musical background. He studied at the Master School of the Prague Conservatory and he performed with the Czech Philharmonic, becoming second concertmaster. World War II had a large effect on his music. With the Nazi invasion, he lost his position in the Philharmonic and was sent to Terezin, and later to Auschwitz where he was murdered with several other famous Jewish musicians.

The Diary of Ruth Brösslerová, Ruth Brösslerová, 1942-1945, From the collection of: Jewish Museum in Prague

The Diary of Ruth Brosslerova is a chronological account of the life of a girl who had been transported to the Terezin Ghetto with her parents and brother. She kept accounts of the events in this diary that she wrote. She and her family arrived at Terezin on the Nazi Transport U from Brno on January 28th 1942. She included diagrams and pictures, along with her family's transport numbers and other important documents. Her chronological entries range from January 25th 1942 - May 6th 1945. She was in barrack L410 and kept accounts of other people and events that happened there. This piece is a very important artistic discovery. Not only are the illustrations very accurate and detailed, but they tell a very important story of a people that who were persecuted and murdered for their race. This piece gives a voice to those who were voiceless and taken from their homes during the Holocaust. We must observe and appreciate pieces like this to ensure that history doesn't repeat itself. This piece matches our overall theme of showing how God has kept the Jewish people strong and has protected them as His chosen people even through persecution.

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This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.

Jewish Museum in Prague