Bidspirit auction | Bezalel - Pages with photographs

Bezalel - Pages with photographs of works of art and a booklet from the estate of Shmuel Ben-David of Bezalel, which served him as a ”tool” and inspiration for designing a significant portion of his works at Bezalel and in his artistic work: 1. Eleven pages from Portefeuille de la revue des arts Décoratifs, Salon de 1898, published by the Société des Artistes français, Paris, [no date of printing] – High-quality photographs of decorative art objects in various styles. Each page bears Shmuel Ben-David's signature: ”S. Davidoff”. Good condition. 2. Die Kunst, Monatshefte für Frei und Angewandte Kunst. Published by F. Bruckmann, Munich, 1913. German. Year fifteen, issue 3. From the estate of Shmuel Ben-David. Source: Estate of artist Shmuel Ben-David. The text for this item is taken from catalog no. 21 (item no. 245) of the ”Kedem” auction house. - Shmuel Ben-David was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1884. In 1904 he began studying art in Sofia, where he met Boris Schatz. Under his influence, he immigrated to Palestine in 1906, and joined Bezalel as a student in the advanced class and as a teacher in the carpet department. In 1912 he went to Paris, where he studied art. In 1913 he was one of the founders of the ”Rimon” group at Bezalel. During World War I, he remained in Jerusalem, thanks to his Bulgarian citizenship. At that time, he taught art in several schools in the city. When Bezalel reopened in 1916, he returned to teach there until his death in 1927. In 1920 he was One of the founders of the ”Hebrew Artists' Association”. In the years 1921-1922, he was even elected the first chairman of the association and designed its emblem. Ben-David's main work was in the field of applied art, such as enamel works and jewelry. Alongside designing models for the Bezalel Carpet Department, he created fabric applications, drawings and prints, combining the Art Nouveau style with Jewish realism. In addition, he dealt with typography and the design of Hebrew calligraphy.