- 145
Boris Schatz 1867-1932
Description
- Boris Schatz
- Samson and Delilah
- signed and dated Sofia 20 Juli 1905 and inscribed "Dedicated to my daughter, Angelika, July 20"
- terracotta relief
- 18 by 25 in. (46 by 64 cm.)
- Executed in 1905.
Provenance
Exhibited
Jerusalem, Boris Schatz Memorial Exhibition, 1867-1932, Artist's House, May 1988
Jerusalem, The Israel Museum, Boris Schatz, The Father of Israeli Art, January - June 2006, illustrated, pp. 19, 69
Literature
Eugeny Kotlyar, The Making of a National Art: Boris Schatz in Bulgaria, Ars Judaica, vol. 4, 2008, p. 58
Bezalel 1906-1929, ed. Nurit Shilo-Cohen, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1983, p. 129
Boris Schatz, His Life and Work, Monography, Jerusalem, 1925, p. 27
Catalogue Note
Boris Schatz married his first wife, Genia in 1889. The marriage, however, ended in divorce in 1903. Schatz was especially devastated by the separation from his daughter, Angelika. In a description of his emotional state at the time, he recounted "Like a wounded lion in a cage I paced around my studio, prepared at any moment to blow my burning head apart in order to put an end to the unbearable torment" (Boris Schatz, The Father of Israeli Art, p. 19)
The biblical narrative of Samson and Delilah has inspired a great number of artists, including Rubens, Rembrandt, William Blake, and Chagall. Boris Schatz, however, took this saga to a different level by identifying with the Israelite, likening his own fate to that of Samson's, betrayed by Genia as the treacherous Delilah. The scene depicts the pivotal moment when she cuts off the hero's hair, the source of his strength, thus depleting him of his power. Both men were passionate; the Book of Judges depicts Samson as being ruled by his passions, leading to his downfall. Schatz poured his soul into all of his endeavors and likely did the same in his personal life.
As a parting gift before his move to Palestine in 1906, Schatz presented this relief to his beloved Angelika. Her image appears as the angel on the arched frame, hovering over the drama below.