Mordecai Ardon ( he, מרדכי ארדון, 13 July 1896 – 18 June 1992) was an Israeli painter.

Biography

Max Bronstein (later Mordecai Ardon) was born in

Tuchów Tuchów is a town in Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 6,476 (2004). It lies on the ''Biała'' river, at the height of above sea level. The distance to Kraków is , and to the border with Slovakia, approx ...

, Galicia (then

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, now

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

). In 1933 he

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

, settling in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He was granted British Mandatory Palestinian citizenship in 1936 and changed his name to Mordecai Ardon.

Art career

He participated in the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

of 1968. Beginning in the 1950s Ardon adopted a complex system of symbolic images in his paintings, taken from the Jewish Mystical tradition (Kabbalah), from the Bible and from a tangible reality. In his painting "Gates of Light", for example, he expressed "the inner mystery and timelessness of the landscape." His work seeks to impart a cosmic dimension to the present, linking it to antiquity and mystery. The same approach can be found in " At the Gates of Jerusalem" (1967), which shows the attempt to "convey his feelings about the cosmic significance of Israel’s return to the Old City of Jerusalem during the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

". "Bird near a yellow wall" (1950) demonstrates his simplistic involvement with the Holocaust, a subject to which he was one of the few Israeli artists to devote a phase of his work, at that time. As a teacher and director of the " New Bezalel", Ardon conveyed his sense of social involvement, his tendency towards Jewish mysticism and local mythology, and the combination of personal national symbols with reality-always stressing masterful technique. Pupils such as Avigdor Arikha, Yehuda Bacon, Naftali Bezem, Shraga Weil and Shmuel Boneh absorbed these influences and integrated them into their later work. Ardon was seen as the father of the regional approach in Israeli art. One of his most famous creations are the " Ardon Windows" (1980–1984), a set of large stained-glass windows displayed prominently in the National Library of Israel in

, incorporating visual elements from the

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...

. Ardon died in Jerusalem in 1992. In 2014 his painting "The Awakening" (1969) was sold at

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

for $821,000. In 2006 his painting "The Woodpecker of Time" (1963) was sold at Christie's for $643,200.

Education

* 1920-25 Bauhaus School,

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, with Itten,

Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

, Feininger * 1926 Studied with Max Doerner

Teaching

* 1929 Kunstschule Itten,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

* 1935 Seminar, Bet Hakerem,

* 1935-52 Bezalel,

* 1940-52 Bezalel,

, Director * 1952-63 Ministry of Education and Culture,

, Supervisor and Art Advisor

Awards and recognition

* 1954 Unesco Prize * 1963, Ardon was awarded the Israel Prize, in painting. * 1974, he received the

Yakir Yerushalayim Yakir Yerushalayim ( he, יַקִּיר יְרוּשָׁלַיִם; en, Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) is an annual citizenship prize in Jerusalem, inaugurated in 1967. The prize is awarded annually by the municipality of the City of Jerusalem to o ...

(Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) award. City of Jerusalem official website * 1974 Doctor of Honor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem * 1988 Boris Schatz Prize * 1992

Isracard Isracard ( he, ישראכרט) is an State of Israel, Israeli company that is made up of four different companies: Isracard LTD, Europay LTD, Aminit LTD and American Express Israel, which offers financial services – including credit card issu ...

Prize, Tel Aviv Museum

References

External links

* * *
Ardon's art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardon, Mordecai Bauhaus alumni Israeli stained glass artists and manufacturers Israel Prize in painting recipients Jewish painters Austro-Hungarian Jews Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Jews in Mandatory Palestine Jewish Israeli artists Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine People from Tarnów County 1896 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Israeli painters 20th-century Israeli male artists