Moshe Castel , 1909-1991
Ancient Hebrew Letters

Ancient Hebrew Letters
Artist's name: Moshe Castel , 1909-1991
Item name: Ancient Hebrew Letters
Technique: Bronze relief
Measurements: 40X30 cm
Signed: Signed.

About The Artist:
Born in Jerusalem, scion of a Sephardic family that came to the Land of Israel from Castile in 1492. As a child, Castel studied at his father's Talmud Torah school in Jerusalem's Bukharan Quarter, later continuing his studies at the boys' school. At the age of 13 he was accepted to the Bezalel Art School, administered by Boris Schatz, where he studied for three years. During the period of 1925-1940 he resided in Paris, studying at Académie Julian, Académie de la Grande Chaumière, and the Louvre Museum, where he reproduced works of the great artists. Over this period, his works were exhibited in important salons in Paris, as well as galleries in London and Warsaw. During the 1930s, Castel made several visits to the Land of Israel, initiating the first exhibit of Paris School artists. In 1940 he returned to the Land of Israel, settling in Safed. From this period on, and for the rest of his life, he was greatly influenced by the spirit of Jewish mysticism. In 1948 he established, together with Yosef Zaritsky, Yehezkel Streichman, Marcel Janco and other artists, the New Horizons group of artists. The group adopted the fundamentals of European abstract art, mainly those expressed in the works of Picasso and Braque. Castel added occidental motifs to the abstract expressive style, under the influence of what was called Canaanite Art. Castel died in 1991, in Tel-Aviv. The Moshe Castel Museum of Art was opened in 2010, in Maale Adummim, near Jerusalem.