Dove of Peace Limoges plate Benn Rabinowicz Avant Garde French Jewish Modernist

Dimensions: H: 9.0, W: 9.0, D: 1 IN

Signed in the plate Benn, born Bencjon Rabinowicz, (1905–1989) was a painter associated with the School of Paris, Ecole de Paris His early work was mostly figurative; much of his later work is inspired by the Bible, particularly the Book of Psalms.

Benn was born in 1905 in Białystok, Russian Empire, where his father was an architect and his grandfather was a rabbi. He demonstrated an early talent for painting. In 1917, he began giving private lessons in drawing. In 1926, he started making theatre sets. In 1927, Benn had his first private exhibition in Wilno (Second Polish Republic). After his admission to the Union of Professional Artists of Poland in 1928, Benn started exhibiting his works in Białystok and Warsaw. In 1929, he received a scholarship to study for three years in Paris, where he attended the Académie Fernand Léger. It was upon his arrival in Paris that he changed his name to Benn and used it exclusively for the rest of his life. During his studies at the Académie, Benn drew on geometric forms but refrained from becoming an abstract painter. In 1932, Benn met ballet dancer and artist Ghera; they wed in 1938 and Benn became a French citizen. In 1939, after being mobilized and discharged in Brittany, Benn sent paintings from Rennes to the Salon d'Automne exhibits and began creating sculpture. In 1941, Benn was interned at Beaune-la-Rolande. He was eventually released with the help of professor Marcel Brulé and art critic Lo Duca. Following his release, Benn went into hiding for 26 months with the protection of Jean Paulhan. During this time, Benn produced 62 works that were inspired by biblical verses and motifs. Following the Liberation in 1944, Benn returned permanently to Paris and continued to exhibit his work in galleries and museums across Europe. He was of the same period as Abram Krol and also worked with Judaic themes and Judaica. In 1949, Benn collaborated with the artist Marc Chagall to create a company of painters and sculptors. In 1966, an association called "Friends of the Work of the Painter Benn" was established. Following a long career, Benn bequeathed a collection of his works to the French commune Rueil-Malmaison. In 1987, Benn donated 190 biblical oils to the Musée d'art sacré du Gard.He died in Paris in 1989. Benn's wife, Ghera, died in 1994. Upon her death, the Musée d'art sacré du Gard

received an additional collection of lithographs, paintings, and medals that represented Benn's creative works and contributions.

Artistic career Initially inspired by Russian Constructivism, Kinetic art, and Cubism, Benn's style evolved over time. He went through a geometric period that was influenced by Wassily Kandinsky, then Symbolism; eventually he adopted a Poetic Realist style. In 1930, Benn was admitted to the Association of Professional Artists, Paris. His first exhibition in Paris was in 1931 at Galerie L'Époque. Between 1932 and 1939, Benn's works were exhibited at private galleries and exhibitions in France, including Salon d'Automne and Les Independents. In 1940, upon the exclusion of Jewish artists from the exhibition, Benn's work was rejected by the Salon d'Automne. In 1956, Benn received the Gold Medal from the Salon des Artistes Français. In 1957, he was awarded the Prix de L'Institut de France. In 1960, he published 62 psaumes et versets de la Bible, based on sketches he did while in hiding during World War II. In 1962, he received the Grand Médaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris. The same year, Fox (Paris) produced a film about Benn.[8] In 1969, Benn continued his contributions to the theatre community by creating scenes and costumes for the play, Job, at the National Theatre in Amsterdam. During the 1970s, Benn received awards from Petah Tikva, Levallois-Perret, Île-de-France, and Bordeaux. In 1974, Benn received a prize from the Académie des Beaux-Arts for his album, "Le cantique des cantiques," illustrations to the biblical book, The Song of Songs, which was presented to the Bibliothèque nationale. That year, Benn also received the Légion d'Honneur. In 1975, in honour of his 70th birthday, Benn received the Médaille du Jubilé from the Musée de la Monnaie de Paris. In 1986, Benn received an international prize in recognition of donating his poster design symbolizing peace and human rights to UNESCO. Benn's mural entitled, "Love and Peace" (1985), was donated to UNESCO in 1987 and remains at the organization's headquarters in Paris. In 1988, Benn was awarded the Grand Prix d'Honneur et Médaille de l'Académie des Beaux-Arts, Lyon. During this time he designed the typography for various collections of Yiddish poetry. After being very active in the 1920's and 30's in the Polish theater scene as well as being the founder of the modernist group "3F", he went to Paris to study with Fernand Leger. After the German occupation of France in 1940 he went into hiding. After being denounced he was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to a concentration camp but miraculously survived the war. He returned to Paris and in the post-war years he developed his own style of metaphysical painting techniques and surrealism. Later in his life Benn also was active in book design and contributed illustrations for various books of the Bible and for The Song of Songs. During the period after the war, Benn dealt with biblical themes, mostly in small formats. This interest in biblical themes was very common among Jewish artists that survived the war and the holocaust. The holocaust caused many Jewish people question the existence of god, some became atheists, and some became stronger believers. One of his most notable works in this theme is the 126 illustrations of psalms that were presented in the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, Museum of Lyon and many other places.

Expositions marquantes

——————— Galerie Katia Granoff Galerie d’art Matignon – Galerie de Marignan Galerie Charpentier (actuellement Sotheby’s) Galerie Gaveau – Ville de Montréal Musée d’art moderne de Lyon Musée d’art moderne à Paris Musée du Petit Palais à Genève Orangerie du Luxembourg à Paris Musée Carnavalet – Paris Villes de Tokyo – Kyoto – Osaka Hommage au Grand Palais – Paris U.N.E.S.C.O. – Paris