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Abel Pann (Pfeffermann; 1883–1963), Israel painter and draughtsman, born in Kreslavka, Latvia. He studied in Paris under Bourgereau and Toulouse-Lautrec. Pann was a successful painter and cartoonist. When it became known that pogroms had taken place in Russia, he drew paintings on that theme, his purpose being to print reproductions of them. In 1916 he painted the series, "Road of Tears", drawings and lithographs of the Russian pogroms. He caused a sensation with his drawings of the czarist pogroms (e.g., Nod ha-Dema'ot, The Tear Jug, 1917). In 1913 he went to Palestine, where he eventually settled, and where he executed his chief work, The Bible in Pictures, using local oriental types to depict biblical characters. His intention was to illustrate the Bible in terms of its original setting as seen by a Jew. He was one of the first teachers at the Bezalel School of Art.
In the twenties and thirties he held many exhibitions in Western and Central Europe. His works, including reproductions of them, are widely known all over the world. In the course of World War II, he drew paintings of the Holocaust, but at the same time continued to paint themes of Eretz Yisrael. Art critic David Giladi said of him: "Had Abel Pann not seen his vocation as being specially Jewish, his name might have been among those inscribed in letters of gold in the pantheon of French art".
Today, Pann occupies a central place among the masters of Erez Israel. His works increase in value and are much sought after by collectors all over the world. |
