Objects

Dancing Hershel of Ostropol and a band

Kleinmann, Fryderyk (1897-1943)

It is part of the collection:

Mosze Lifszyc’s comedy The Tale of Hershel of Ostropol tells a story of a sad Jewish village whose people – the Hasidim and the progressives – are fighting ruthlessly, not even hesitating to denounce and inform on each other. Once Hershel arrives in the village "his smart sobriety and sceptical philosophy, his careless ease of influencing and creating events are able to achieve what the mind and the piety could not. In Hershel’s melting pot of humour, all the differences blend together. The feuding folks are shaking hands […] That is what good humour can do! And a free spirited careless jester who sees more and knows more than the simple natured ones, who sees the poverty of rules and the riches of fiction, brings into our lives many perspectives and many truths" (H. Hescheles, Opowieść o Herszlu z Ostropola. Komedia w 4 aktach Mojżesza Lifszyca. Trupa Wileńska, Chwila, 1930, no. 3967, p. 5). That joy is captured in this drawing of the frisky Hershel dancing while the Jewish musicians are playing fiddle, clarinet, cimbalom and double bass.

A version of this scene with a slightly different composition was reproduced in Almanach Żydowski, Lwow 1937, p. 63. According to Artur Lauterbach "Fryderyk Kleinmann is one of the few of our artists who consciously emphasise the connection between their art and Jewishness. An exceptionally versatile artist […] in the later stage of his career he devoted his art – apart from easel painting – to creating series based on Jewish legends and folktales. He is fascinated with the figures of Jewish globetrotters and tragic jesters. He tells their stories with a flourish, relives the ups and downs of their weird lives, smiles through their tears, mesmerised by those peculiar, distorted and grotesque characters. " (A. Lauterbach, Żydzi a sztuki plastyczne, Almanach żydowski [Jewish Almanac], Lwow 1937, p. 62).

Kleinmann presented his drawings from the Hershel of Ostropol series during an open exhibition held on 12th of December 1935 in the residence of the Artists Trade Union of Lwow. Besides him, Jarosław Muzykow, Andrzej Pronaszko and Bruno Schulz exhibited their works in separate showrooms (Wystawa prac Fryca Kleinmanna, Jarosławy Muzyki, Andrzeja Pronaszki, Brunona Szulca [!], Lwow, December 1935; U. Makowska, Opinia. Rysunki Fryderyka Kleinmanna, Warszawa 2020).

Renata Piątkowska

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Information about the object
Author / creator
Kleinmann, Fryderyk (1897-1943)
Object type
drawing
Time of creation / dating
20th century
Place of creation
Lviv (Ukraine)
Technique
drawn
Material
paper
ink
Keywords
Copyright status
Owner
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
Identification number
MPOLIN-M289
Localization
The object is not currently on display
The purchase of the object for the POLIN Museum Collection was made possible thanks to the support of theAssociation Of The Jewish Historical Institute Of Poland.
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