Here we have a unicorn version of a mystical color etching by listed Israeli artist Mordecai Ardon (1896 - 1992). Beyond the image contains the amazing colors amongst the falling letters, you're looking at the first print in the very limited series of 75. Hence, this unicorn of Judaica art is a majestic sight. Ardon's use of the colors within the murky clouds and mystic symbolism of the letters delivers on all counts.
The rare Israeli artwork comes out of a fine art collector's estate in the Twin Cities. The etching is numbered 1/75 in Roman numerals in the bottom left corner, and signed in the bottom right corner. The artwork was originally created in the early 1970s.
Here is more information about this important Israeli artist, courtesy of Wikipedia:
Max Bronstein (later Mordecai Ardon) was born in Tuchów, Galicia (then Austria-Hungary, now Poland). In 1933 he immigrated to Mandate Palestine, settling in Jerusalem. He was granted British Mandatory Palestinian citizenship in 1936 and changed his name to Mordecai Ardon.
He participated in the Venice Biennale of 1968.
Beginning in the 1950s Ardon adopted a complex system of symbolic images in his paintings, taken from the Jewish Mystical tradition (Kabbalah), from the Bible and from a tangible reality. In his painting "Gates of Light", for example, he expressed "the inner mystery and timelessness of the landscape." His work seeks to impart a cosmic dimension to the present, linking it to antiquity and mystery. The same approach can be found in "At the Gates of Jerusalem" (1967), which shows the attempt to "convey his feelings about the cosmic significance of Israel’s return to the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War". "Bird near a yellow wall" (1950) demonstrates his simplistic involvement with the Holocaust, a subject to which he was one of the few Israeli artists to devote a phase of his work, at that time.
As a teacher and director of the "New Bezalel", Ardon conveyed his sense of social involvement, his tendency towards Jewish mysticism and local mythology, and the combination of personal national symbols with reality-always stressing masterful technique. Pupils such as Avigdor Arikha, Yehuda Bacon, Naftali Bezem, Shraga Weil and Shmuel Boneh absorbed these influences and integrated them into their later work.
Ardon was seen as the father of the regional approach in Israeli art.
One of his most famous creations are the "Ardon Windows" (1980–1984), a set of large stained-glass windows displayed prominently in the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem, incorporating visual elements from the Kabbalah.
Ardon died in Jerusalem in 1992.
In 2014 his painting "The Awakening" (1969) was sold at Sotheby's for $821,000. In 2006 his painting "The Woodpecker of Time" (1963) was sold at Christie's for $643,200.
The framed print measures 11 1/2" tall by 7 1/2" wide. The print was framed back in the day in Atlanta. The etching edges has a some fading in color from age. Please see all pics as they are part of the description.
I ship FedEx to street addresses in the continental USA only (no PO Boxes). Free shipping on the rare Israeli artwork.
What a piece. Ardon was a genius.
