Natan Spigel (also: Nathan, Szpigiel/Spiegel/Szpigel) (1892–1942) was a Jewish painter born in

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 ...

.http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/lodz/noted.htm, Shtetlinks, Noted Citizens of Lodz, Szpigiel (SPIEGEL), Natan (1900-1943), Retrieved February 1, 2011. Spigel was a key member of the influential

Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

group

Yung-yidish Yung-yidish, also spelled Jung Idysz, was the first Jewish avant-garde artistic and literary group in Poland, active in Łódź in 1918–1921. The members exhibited in Poland and abroad and published an eponymous journal, as well as other literary ...

. He exhibited his works throughout Europe until his internment in

Radomsko Radomsko is a city in southern Poland with 44,700 inhabitants (2021). It is situated on the Radomka river in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been in Piotrków Voivodeship, Piotrków Trybunalski Voivodeship (1975–1998). ...

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

in 1939. Natan was murdered in

Treblinka Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The cam ...

in 1942, and only about 20 of his works survived the Shoah-Holocaust.

Life and artistic career

Natan Spigel was born into an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

family in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

, now in Poland, in 1892. ( see autobiographic letter to Prof.Otto Schneid ). The remnants of his family are now based in London. He studied art as a young man and then in 1910 traveled to Rome on sponsorship, where he continued his studies with Henryk Glicenstein. His first major success, in Paris, was the invitation to show in the 1924

Salon d'Automne The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The f ...

, although his first public exhibition was in Lodz in 1921. He was invited to exhibit in London at the Ben Uri Gallery in 1930 and also, at a joint exhibition with

Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American-British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1911. He often produce ...

. In Poland Natan Spigel was regularly exhibiting his work, with shows in Lodz, Cracow and Warsaw (1921, 1928 & 1937). Spigel considered himself a Jewish painter, and his painting reflected this focus, depicting scenes of Jewish life in Poland, as well as portraits and still-life, in both watercolours and oils. A particularly distinctive feature of some of his watercolours was his use of varnish to give age and contrast. Spigel was a key member of the

group Jung Idysz. He was also a member of ‘Start’, a group of mainly Jewish, Lodz artists, who exhibited across Poland throughout the 1920s and '30s. By the 1930s, his work was in collections in Poland, London, and Israel. Shortly after the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

, in 1939, Natan Spigel, together with his family, was interned in the

. He continued to paint during this time. He was murdered in the Treblinka extermination camp in 1942. Today Natan Spigel’s work can be seen in public collections in Tel Aviv, London, Lublin, and

Ein Harod Ein Harod ( he, עֵין חֲרוֹד) was a kibbutz in northern Israel near Mount Gilboa. Founded in 1921, it became the center of Mandatory Palestine's kibbutz movement, hosting the headquarters of the largest kibbutz organisation, HaKibbutz HaM ...

. Only about 20 of his paintings are definitely known to have survived.

References

External links

Spigel's work in Central Jewish Library
see : natanspigel.com see: https://archive.org/details/ottoschneidpapers {{DEFAULTSORT:Spigel, Natan 1942 deaths Polish painters of Jewish descent 1890s births Polish people who died in Treblinka extermination camp Nazi-era ghetto inmates Artists from Łódź Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust