Bidspirit auction | Rare Bronze Chanukkiya. Work of

Rare Bronze Chanukkiya. Work of the Srtist Marek Szwarc. Paris 1920-30 - Early and original modern Jewish work of art - unique cast bronze Chanukkiya crafted by the Polish-French artist Marek Szwarc (1892-1958). A rare and important Chanukkiya.  A similar Chanukkiya was published in 1927 as an original, modern Jewish work of art. An identical Chanukkiya is exhibited in the Israel Museum of Jerusalem.  The back of the Chanukkiya is most dramatic. On both its sides, a relief of two large palms; between them, a couple of lions holding the Tablets of the Law.  Marek Szwarc: Jewish-Polish painter and sculptor.  Szwarc was born in Zgierz, Poland to a Zionist family and received a traditional education as a child. From 1910 to 1914, Marek studied art at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. He lived in La Ruch with Chaim Soutine and Marc Chagall. Together with Tchaikov and Lichtenstein, he inaugurated the first Jewish art journal Machmadim (Precious Ones). In 1913 he exhibited his first sculpture, Eve, in the Salon d'Automne. Szwarc's work, broadly identified in style with the École de Paris, was frequently but not exclusively concerned with biblical themes. He exhibited in Sweden, Austria, France, Canada, Belgium and Poland. His works are on display in museums, public halls, places of worship, and private collections in Poland, Israel, Montreal, Caracas, the United States, and England. See more about him:  Braunstein, Susan. FIVE CENTURIES OF HANUKKAH LAMPS FROM THE JEWISH MUSEUM: A CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2004, p. 309.