1. COMPANY Name
The Story of Israel
Through the Eyes of Its Artists
Instructor: Dr. Sharon Gershoni
From the early days of the yishuv, Israeli artists
participated in shaping the identity of the “new Jew,” the
Sabra, and Israeli national mythologies and ideologies.
At the same time, Israeli artists have also been Israeli
society’s harshest critics. Their art offers us a complex
view of Israeli society.
These lectures explore the first 100 years of the
formation of Israeli society and the Jewish state through
the eyes of its artists – from its utopian collective
identity, through political struggles, and into a nation
fragmented by diverse cultures and social realities.
For more information please contact:
sharon.gershoni@gmail.com
Israeli Art

2. ISRAELI ART THROUGH THE EYES OF ITS ARTISTS Dr. Sharon Gershoni 1
THE BEGINNINGS OF MODERN JEWISH ART IN
19TH CENTURY EUROPE
The roots of Israeli art lie in the emergence of Jewish art in 19th
century Europe. Yet, in contrast to the renaissance in Hebrew
literature in Europe at that time, very few Jewish sculptors and
painters are known to have worked then.
What were the obstacles that these artists faced? How did they
respond to the anti-Semitic caricatures and grotesque imagery in
the mass media? How did they portray themselves and their
communities? How did their perception of the Jew influence Israeli
art?
This lecture introduces the pioneers of Jewish art through a review
of their lives and work.
BEZALEL – THE FIRST ART SCHOOL IN JERUSALEM
AND THE CREATION OF THE “NEW JEW”
Bezalel, the first ever Jewish art school, was founded in Jerusalem
in 1907 by Boris Schatz. Schatz believed in the power of Jewish
artists to evoke a new identity in the Jewish people, and to inspire
them to become a modern nation.
The art created at Bezalel delivered the first symbols of freedom,
and of the New Jew’s strength of spirit and body. While Bezalel’s
images attracted many European Jewish youth to Palestine, being
aimed at diaspora Jews, they failed to communicate to the yishuv
(Jewish pioneers).
This lecture tells the story of Boris Schazt and his vision of Bezalel
Jewish art school in Jerusalem as a force that ignited the spark of
the new Jewish nation.

3. ISRAELI ART THROUGH THE EYES OF ITS ARTISTS Dr. Sharon Gershoni 2
1920s MODERNIST ART IN TEL AVIV:
SEARCHING FOR IDENTITY IN THE LAND
In the 1910s-1920s, while Bezalel Art School in Jerusalem
produced biblically inspired art, its frustrated students rebelled
and left to the newly established city of Tel Aviv. There, they
formed modernist art circles, turning their gaze away from biblical
figures and towards the land and its local inhabitants.
How did the 1920s modernists perceive themselves, the pioneers
and the Palestinians? How was their work different from that of
Bezalel?
This lecture will survey the works of these artists, their world and
their visions of life in Eretz Israel.
THE PALESTINIANS IN THE EYES OF ISRAELI
ARTISTS
The Jewish artists who arrived in Eretz Israel - in the early 1900s,
came in search of their homeland, and a national identity. How did
their initial encounter with the Palestinian inhabitants shape their
perception of themselves and their identity? And how did that
view change over the course of the 20th century?
At times, the Palestinians reminded these artists of their Biblical
ancestors, an integral part of the motherland. At other times, they
were siblings to either be emulated, or rejected... the other, or us.
This lecture reviews one hundred years of Israeli art in search of a
new Jewish identity through depictions of the Palestinian
inhabitants of Eretz Israel, as well as recent Palestinian art-
reversing the direction of the gaze.

4. ISRAELI ART THROUGH THE EYES OF ITS ARTISTS Dr. Sharon Gershoni 2
THE ISRAELIS IN THE EYES OF ISRAELI ARTISTS
Who are “the Israelis?” Are they “New Jews” – natives of the
Land of Israel? Or are they European settlers? And what of
the North African and Asian Israelis? Or the Palestinians?
How do they fit into this picture?
Since the late 19th century, the identity of “the Israeli” has
been a central theme in Israeli art and society.
This lecture will trace how Israeli artists have observed and
represented the identity shifts, fractures and
reconstructions in their society, and have even influenced
the shaping of these identities.
Who are the Israelis? Ask the Israeli artists!
HA’ARETZ – THE LAND – IN THE EYES OF ISRAELI
ARTISTS
The land of Israel has been perceived as a dream, a mother, and
even a new religion. She was wild nature that could be tamed and
farmed. She was a replacement for God, nurturing them, but
sometimes betraying them. They fought for her and she is soaked
with blood of the youth who gave their lives for her.
"What is Eretz Israel? How did Israeli society shape it and how did
it shape Israeli identity? What is the power of the land?
This will be revealed in this survey of a 100 years of Israeli art on
Ha’Aretz (The Land).