Natan Szpigel (Szpigiel, Spigel, Spiegel) (1892-1942) is one of the most outstanding painters of the interwar period. Before the First World War , he studied in Rome; in 1921 , he went to Paris (he returned to Poland in 1926). In 1931, further artistic journeys took him to Italy, France and England.
Szpigel's original paintings continued the search for the shape of Jewish art in a modern form. His exhibitions, including those at the Jewish Society for the Propagation of Fine Arts (1928, 1932, 1937), made it possible to introduce the artist, whose work spanned between the art of the past, the new materiality and the idea of 'Jewishness', into Polish culture. Szpigel said: "It pleases me when every Jew [...] not only understands me but feels me deeply, as a singer of his longing. Jewishness does not consist in external accessories but an internal attitude, a certain stance towards God and life. I can paint a still life, or a colourful landscape, or finally a human face . I will always remain a Jewish painter, deeply moved by the anxiety of Jewry, this eternal longing for liberation" (M. K.[anfer], Literatura w malarstwie II. Rozmowa z Natanem Spieglem (Literature in Painting II. Conversation with Natan Spiegel), Nowy Dziennik 1933, no. 23, p. 9). These beliefs stemmed from his religious upbringing: "And to this day," he wrote to Otto Schneid, "despite the knowledge I have acquired in life, this faith remains in me" (https://www.benuricollection.org.uk/intermediate.php?artistid=173, accessed 9.10.2020). Henryk Weber understood that "Szpigel feels precisely those whole heaps of Romantic mysticism hiding behind the types and hovels of the Jewish backstreet and builds his form and colour with them in mind" (H. Weber, Obrazy Natana Szpigla (Natan Szpigel's paintings), Nowy Dziennik 1933, no. 9, p. 10). This unsentimental, sometimes cruel look at models (Pokraczny (Hideous), Museum of Art in Łódź; Ojciec z córką (Father with Daughter), Museum of Art Ein Harod) brings out strong emotions and moodiness from seemingly trivial scenes, from the people he painted. With time, the technique and subject matter of his works changed. The artist more and more willingly used watercolours, and thanks to the use of varnish, he obtained original colour and chiaroscuro effects.
During the Second World War, the artist and his family stayed in the Radomsko ghetto. He died in the Treblinka death camp.
Renata Piątkowska
