Shalom of Safad, Mixed Media, "Exodus" Nr. 115/250

Estimate: $250-$400

Description: Mixed media art by Judaica artist Shalom Moskovitz known also as "Shalom of Safed" titled "Exodus" and numbered 115/250.

Dimensions: 10" x 14" plus frame

Condition: Very Good. No damage noted.

Bio: Shalom Moskovitz (b.1896, d.1980) known as "Shalom of Safed" was a primitive artist who created in the last thirty years of his life a large opus of paintings devoted to the Torah and Jewish life. As a pious Jew in the sleepy insular environment of Safed he had no knowledge of art history or contemporary art, nevertheless his work has a surprisingly modernist flavor. It tends to be flat with broad areas of strong, evocative color. Figurative elements are subsumed within a powerful graphic composition. Textual passages are incorporated into the image echoing some Pop Art masterpieces and prefiguring many Post-modern techniques. These modernist elements are typical manifestations of many aspects of ‘naive' folk art. Shalom utilizes these techniques in an extremely focused depiction of the Biblical narrative where the modernism of his form actively reflects and enhances the Torah meaning.