Bialik House ( he, בית ביאליק, Beit Bialik) was the home of the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbo ...

Hayyim Nahman Bialik Hayim Nahman Bialik ( he, חיים נחמן ביאַליק; January 9, 1873 – July 4, 1934), was a Jewish poet who wrote primarily in Hebrew but also in Yiddish. Bialik was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poetry. He was part of the vangu ...

in the center of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, and is now used as a museum. The museum is located on 22 Bialik Street, Tel Aviv, close to the old city hall building.

History

Bialik purchased a plot of land in Tel Aviv through the offices of the Geula company before settling in Palestine in March 1924. The site was a sandy area leading off Allenby Street not far from a hotel under construction that later became the Tel Aviv municipality.Beit Bialik: Home of Israel's National Poet
Israel. A foundation stone-laying ceremony was held in the presence of Bialik's close friends, among them

Ahad Haam Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg (18 August 1856 – 2 January 1927), primarily known by his Hebrew name and pen name Ahad Ha'am ( he, אחד העם, lit. 'one of the people', Genesis 26:10), was a Hebrew essayist, and one of the foremost pre-state Zi ...

, a resident of Tel Aviv since 1922. The house was built by the

Solel Boneh Solel Boneh ( he, סולל בונה, lit. ''Paving and Building'') is the oldest, and one of the largest, construction and civil engineering companies in Israel. History During British rule (1921-1948) Solel Boneh was founded in 1921 in British ...

company under the supervision of

Eliezer Kaplan Eliezer Kaplan ( he, אליעזר קפלן; be, Эліэзер Каплан; ) was a Zionist activist, Israeli politician, one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence and the country's first Minister of Finance and Deputy ...

, later Israel's first minister of finance.

Architecture

The house was built in 1925 by Joseph Minor, an architect who had studied under

Alexander Baerwald Alexander Baerwald (1877–1930) was a German Jewish architect best known for his work in Haifa, today in Israel, during Late Ottoman and British rule. Life and career Baerwald was born in Berlin, Germany on 3 March 1877. He studied at the ...

. The two were among a group of architects attempting to develop a "Hebrew style" of architecture, by combining western building forms with stylistic elements characteristic of the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

or thought or known to have been in use in the ancient Jewish kingdoms of

Eretz Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Israe ...

. While the interior is in the Arts and Crafts movement style, then popular in northern Europe, orientalizing features include a tower, outdoor terraces, domes, pointed-arch windows and extensive tile work. The most notable tiles are in the first floor reception room. Here, the entryway features a columned archway featuring the tiles produced by the

Bezalel school The Bezalel school was an art movement in Palestine in the late Ottoman and British Mandate periods. Named for the Bezalel Art School, predecessor of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, it has been described as "a fusion of oriental art and ...

featuring the designs of

Ze'ev Raban Ze’ev Raban (22 September 1890 – 19 January 1970), born Wolf Rawicki (Ravitzki), was a leading painter, decorative artist, and industrial designer of the Bezalel school style, and was one of the founders of the Israeli art world. Biography ...

produced as ceramic art tiles. One of the columns has tile cartouches of the twelve months, the other, the

twelve tribes of Israel The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( he, שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל, translit=Šīḇṭēy Yīsrāʾēl, lit=Tribes of Israel) are, according to Hebrew scriptures, the descendants of the biblical patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel, thro ...

. On the sides are a pair of cartouches, one, the famous "Judea capta" coin issued by the Emperor

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

after the Roman defeat of the Jewish Revolt of the year 70. The well-known coin shows a woman, Judea, sitting under a palm tree in chains, over her stands the Roman Emperor in armor. The artist riffs on this familiar image with a scene featuring Judea liberated, rising as the chains break.Chaim Nachman Bialik Home, Batia Carmiel, "Tiles Adorned City; Bezalel ceramics on Tel Aviv Houses, 1923–1929,"

Eretz Israel Museum The Eretz Israel Museum (also known as Muza) is a historical and archeological museum in the Ramat Aviv neighborhood of Tel Aviv, Israel. Eretz Israel Museum, established in 1953, has a large display of archaeological, anthropological and his ...

, Tel Aviv, 1996, (Hebrew and English with illustrations)

References

{{coord, 32.072888, N, 34.771007, E, region:IL, display=title Houses completed in 1925 Museums in Tel Aviv Biographical museums in Israel Poetry museums Historic house museums in Israel

History

Architecture

See also

References