page_title: Boris Schatz
section_title: Bezalel art school
hierarchical_section_title: Boris Schatz / Bezalel art school
context_page_description: Boris Schatz was a Lithuanian Jewish artist and sculptor who settled in Israel. Schatz, who became known as the "father of Israeli art," founded the Bezalel School in Jerusalem. After Schatz died, part of his art collection, including a famous self portrait by Dutch Master Jozef Israels, given to him by the artist, eventually became the nucleus of the Israel Museum.
context_section_description: Bezalel opened on Ethiopia Street in Jerusalem in 1906. The school's stated goals were "to train the people of Jerusalem in crafts, develop original Jewish art and support Jewish artists, and to find visual expression for the much yearned-for national and spiritual independence that seeks to create a synthesis between European artistic traditions and the Jewish design traditions of the East and West, and to integrate it with the local culture of the Land of Israel.” In 1908, the school moved to a permanent home on what became Shmuel Hanagid Street, which allowed more departments to be opened and the scope of activities expanded.
  Of the three buildings Schatz purchased from a wealthy Palestinian Arab. one was his personal residence and the other two housed the art school and a national art museum. The school was established based on the Russian concept of an arts and crafts school and workshop. Bezalel's motto was "Art is the bud, craft is the fruit." The school offered instruction in painting and sculpture alongside crafts such as carpet making, metalworking and woodcarving.
  In the wake of financial difficulties, the school closed in 1929. Schatz died while fundraising on behalf of the school in the United States. His body was brought back to Jerusalem and buried on the Mount of Olives. Bezalel reopened in 1935 as the New Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts.
caption: Bezalel art school, 1913
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