Seidenbeutel brothers


The Seidenbeutel brothers were Polish Jewish artists who were twins. Efraim Seidenbeutel and Menasze Seidenbeutel were born on December 7, 1907. They were killed in 1945, at the Flossenbürg concentration camp. They had two brothers who were also artists: Józef, the oldest, was a painter, and Hirsz, the youngest, was a sculptor.

Art

The Seidenbeutels are considered "Interwar Artists" and painted in the Post-expressionism of École de Paris. They painted mostly landscapes and still life scenes. The twins had a unique way of working; one brother would start a painting and the other brother would finish it. They would sign the painting with just their surname. Even the works the twins created separately have an almost identical style.

Biography

The Seidenbeutels were born in Warsaw. Their father, Abraham, was a textile trader, and their mother took care of the eight children. Efraim's and Menasze's six siblings included Józef, the oldest, who was also a painter and Hirsz, who was younger and was a sculptor.

Education

The Seidenbeutels signed up for painting studies in 1921, at the Municipal School of Decorative Arts. In 1922, their sculpture titled “The Portrait of Anski” was shown at the 4th Exhibition of Paintings and Sculptures organized by the Jewish community. Thereafter, they became students at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where they belonged to the elitist group "Four" set up by the Rector Tadeusz Pruszkowski. remembers that the twins enrolled in school as one student, paid one fee, and took turns attending classes.

The pre-war years

The Seidenbeutels had their studio at the Jewish dorm on Sierakowskiego Street in the Warsaw district of Praga. Frequently, they would go on field trips to small villages and paint en plein air. One of the towns they visited frequently was Kazimierz Dolny. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, they would arrive for a 'season' carrying over 24 stretched canvases each, and complete them in 30–60 days. These canvases would be exhibited in Warsaw and Kraków and would sell out. They met with other artists and inspired younger ones, such as Chaim Goldberg. They met Goldberg when he was eight-years old and bought him en plein air gouache; it was Goldberg's first sale.

The Holocaust Years

During World War II and the Nazi occupation, the Seidenbeutels were confined within the Białystok Ghetto where they worked at the House of Art in the army. They may have belonged to a group of painters, set up by Oskar Steffens, who copied reproductions of paintings by old masters. The twins were later sent to the Stutthof concentration camp, from which they were marched to the death camp in Flossenbürg. They were executed by the camp’s guards one day before the camp was liberated. Izaak Celnikier, also a painter, was a witness to their deaths.

Their unique bond

The Seidenbeutels had a unique bond that intrigues experts to the present day. One brother would start a painting while the other completed it, and the signature was their surname. They signed their paintings this way even when completing a painting individually.
Their similar looks became the subject of jokes, the most popular of which is the following:

List of art works

;Works executed jointly: Portret An-skiego , reliefWidok z okna oil on canvas, 88×76, in the harvest Muzeum Sztuki w ŁodziMartwa natura z kwiatami oil on a glass 69,5×60,8, in private collectionsDroga do wioski Studium kobiety z kwiatami oil on plywood, 72,5×61, in the harvest Muzeum Narodowego w SzczecinieBukiet kwiatów w wazonie , oil on canvas, 80,5×69,5, in private collectionsWioska oil on canvas 64,8×79,5Dziewczyna z gołąbkiem oil on canvas, 73,2×59,7, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstituteDziewczyna z koszem owoców Widok na farę w Kazimierzu oil on plywood 47×33, in private collections Mury Kazimierskie oil on cardboard, 39×22, in private collections Martwa natura oil on canvas, 80,5×71, in the collection of the National Museum in WarsawMartwa natura 70×49, in private collectionsUlica Krakowska Pejzaż z domami Siostry ''''Młoda kobieta z kwiatami Zamyślona Kobieta w szalu Dwie dziewczyny z owocami Dwie dziewczynki Postaci w pejzażu , oil on canvasPortret mężczyzny w okularach , oil on cardboard, 36,5×32,5, in private collectionsUlice miasta/ Widok miasta , oil on board, 50×61, in private collectionsMotyw z Helu , 60×71,5, oil on board, in the collection of the National Museum in WarsawPrzedmieście fabryczne , oil on plywood, 61×70, in the collection of the District Museum in Bielsko-BiałaUliczka w Skoczowie Przydrożna topola , 64,5×89,6, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstituteMotyw ze Śląska Cieszyńskiego , oil on canvas, 60×73,5, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstituteWidok z portu , 42×45, oil on board, in private collectionsMotyw z zagłębia naftowego Koncert Zmrok DzieciGołębiarz Rowerzyści Matka z dzieckiem Dziewczyna z gołębiem , oil on canvas, 80,5×65,8, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstitutePrzedmieścia Krakowa , oil on plywood, 61×75, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstitutePortret Moniki Żeromskiej Martwa natura ze skrzypcami Barka na Wiśle , in the collection of the Museum in Ein HarodMartwa natura z fajką Przy kuźni Przy pracy Ulica w miasteczku z dorożką i stołem przed domem/ Kobieta z owocami na paterze Willa w ogrodzie oil on plywood, 44×48, in the collection of the Museum of Art in ŁódźWidok z tarasu , 60×70, in private collectionsŻółte róże oil on canvas, 83×73, in the collection of the Museum of Art in ŁódźPortret dziewczynki z kwiatami 87×62,5, in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw Martwa natura , oil on canvas, 73×93, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstituteMiejska uliczka oil on canvas, 78×70, in private collectionsWidok miasta , oil on cardboard, 27×44,5, in private collectionsPejzaż wiejski oil on canvas, 64,5×72, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstitutePejzaż małomiasteczkowy z kościołem w tle , oil on plywood, 62×70, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstituteMartwa natura we wnętrzu , oil on canvas, 80×100, in private collectionsJarmark , 25×35, watercolor, gouache, ink on paper, in the collection of the Rynek Sztuki Gallery in Łódź
;Works by EfraimKulisy Widok z okna , oil on canvas, 98.3 × 79.3, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstituteMartwa natura , 80.5 × 71, in the collection of the National Museum in WarsawMartwa natura z prymulką , oil on canvas, 70 × 49, in a private collectionChłopiec z lampą naftową Akt Chłopiec puszczający bańki mydlane Julka, in the collection of the State Hermitage MuseumGitarzysta Chłopiec Portret brata Port rybacki w Gdyni Motyw Helu Gladiole Studium chłopca Magda Kazimierz nad Wisłą , in the collection of the Museum in Ein HarodSprzedawczyni jabłek , in the collection of the Museum in Ein HarodMartwa natura z zieloną butelką , oil on canvas, 57 × 71, in the collection of the Museum of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
;Works by Menasze:Chłopiec z wędką 100 × 83.5, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstitutePortret mężczyzny w kapeluszu oil on canvas, 58.5 × 46.2, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstitutePrzystań , 43 × 47, oil on plywood, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstituteWidok na Kazimierz nad Wisłą , oil on canvas, in the collection of the National Museum in WarsawWidok na Kazimierz nad Wisłą , 72.6 × 65.5, oil on canvas, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstituteWidok na Kazimierz nad Wisłą , 72 × 77.2, oil on canvas, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstituteRynek w Kazimierzu , oil on plywood, 40 × 50, private collectionŁódka , in the collection of the Museum in Ein HarodMulatka,, oil on canvas, 60 × 48, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstituteMartwa natura , oil on canvas, 83 × 72, in the collection of the National Museum in WarsawZaułek w Kazimierzu nad Wisłą , oil on plywood, 38.9 × 41, in the collection of the Jewish Historical InstituteMotyw z Helu Widok na Wawel'
  • ''Martwa natura ''

List of exhibitions

  • 1922 IV Exhibition of Pictures and Sculptures
  • 1930 Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts, Warsaw
  • 1931 Poznań
  • 1931 IPS, Łódź
  • 1931 Geneva, Musee Rath
  • 1933 IPS, Warsaw
  • 1933 College Art Association, New York
  • 1933 TPSP
  • 1934 XIX Biennale, Venice
  • 1934 Riga
  • 1835 Brussels
  • 1936 IPS, Warsaw
  • 1936 IPS, Lviv
  • 1938 Moravian Ostrava
  • 1939 IPS, Warsaw
  • 1939 TPSP
  • 1939 London

Primary references

Research references

  1. Grób Szpryncy Seidenbeutel w bazie danych Cmentarza Żydowskiego przy ul. Okopowej w Warszawie
  2. Abraham Rotsztejn about his maternal family from Warsaw.
  3. 3,0 3,1 3,2 3,3 3,4 3,5 3,6 3,7 3,8 3,9 Jerzy Malinowski: Seidenbeutel Efraim, Seidenbeutel Jerzy, Seidenbeutel Menasze. W: Polski Słownik Biograficzny XXXVI Zeszyt 149. 1995, s. 163–167.
  4. Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902-1945: Pośród braci...: obrazy / Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902-1945: Among the brothers: pictures. Kazimierz Dolny: Muzeum Nadwiślańskie, 2007, s. 14..
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  6. 6,00 6,01 6,02 6,03 6,04 6,05 6,06 6,07 6,08 6,09 6,10 6,11 6,12 6,13 Małgorzata Witek-Czyńska. Efraim i Menasze Seidebeutlowie – dzieło wspólne. „Gazeta Antykwaryczna”. 70, 2002.
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  18. 18,0 18,1 Antoni Uniechowski: Antoni Uniechowski o sobie i innych. Iskry, 1966, s. 121–124.
  19. Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902–1945...' s. 8
  20. 20,0 20,1 Tadeusz Wittlin: Ostatnia cyganeria. Czytelnik, 1989, s. 147-149..
  21. Włodzimierz Bartoszewicz: Buda na Powiślu. PIW, 1966.
  22. Jan Zamoyski: Łukaszowcy: malarze i malarstwo Bractwa św. Łukasza. Wydawnictwa Artystyczne i Filmowe, 1989, s. 52..
  23. Leopold Infeld: Szkice z przeszłości: wspomnienia. Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1964, s. 40.
  24. Hanna Mortkowicz-Olczakowa: Bunt wspomnień. Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1961, s. 339.
  25. Felicja Lilpop Krance: Powroty. 1991, s. 38.
  26. Małgorzata Kitowska-Łysiak: Schulzowskie marginalia. Wydawn. KUL, 2007, s. 131.
  27. Wiesław Budzyński: Miasto Schulza. Prószyński i S-ka, 2005, s. 401..
  28. Joanna Pollakówna: Byli bracia malarze... : o życiu i malowaniu braci Efraima i Menasze Seidenbeutlów. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Hotel Sztuki, 2002..
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  32. Andrzej K. Olszewski: Dzieje sztuki polskiej 1890-1980 w zarysie. Wydawn. Interpress, 1988, s. 62..
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