A rare work by Nahum Gutman, one of the most important creators in Israel in the 1920s and 1930s, is at the center of a new exhibition that will open this Thursday at the Haifa Art Museum.
The uniqueness of the work is that another side was discovered in it, so that it is actually a double painting - since Gutman painted on the canvas on both sides.
In order for visitors to be able to see both sides of the painting, it will be hung from the ceiling of the museum.
The exhibition "Sobbat Shemesh Admati - Shusterman Collection at the Museum" mainly includes works of Israeli art from the first half of the 20th century, when Israeli art was formed.
Among the many artists whose various works are displayed there are Mordechai Levanon, Moshe Kupferman, Anna Tycho, Pinchas Abramowitz, Ephraim Moshe Lelain and more, while all the works appearing in the exhibition have undergone a restoration process.
During this process, the surprising work of Gutman, also known as the winner of the Israel Prize for Children's Literature, which he created in the 1930s, was discovered.
The late Nachum Gutman // Photo: L.A.M
The curator of the exhibition, Limor Alpern, told about the process of Gutman's work, during which the work was discovered: "After its frame was removed, a two-sided painting was discovered with two completely different descriptions. The painting on the front of the canvas takes place in the public space, in the Neve Shanan neighborhood of Tel Aviv. A fig seller weighs his goods on scales carried on a donkey's back, and in front of him stands a woman with her back to the viewer. In the background are some of the city's houses and palm trees grow in the background."
She added: "On the back side of the canvas, on the other hand, Gutman painted a minor and subtle painting, dominated by brown tones, in which he depicted a corner of the house with two chairs next to a large window. This is apparently the house of his wife Dora's parents, where the couple lived during the 1930s".
The painting "The fig seller" by Nahum Gutman, photo: Nahum Gutman
Dr. Kobi Ben-Meir, the chief curator of the museum, said: "The Shusterman collection, which includes masterpieces from the beginning of the 20th century, joins the existing collection in the museum, and gives expression to all the different schools of thought that have been active in Israel since the founding of Bezalel in 1906.
This body of works adds a very significant artistic and historical layer to the museum's existing collection, which focuses mostly on Israeli art from the 1950s onwards."
The CEO of Haifa Museums, Yotam Yakir, said that the museums in the city responded to the "Iron Swords" war at the very beginning, with the understanding that this is their mission in this difficult time. sanity.
Even now, all Haifa museums continue to be open to the reservists and families who were evacuated from their homes, free of charge."
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