Moshe Elazar Castel (1909-1991/92)
20th Century Israeli Modernist best known for his abstract art, landscapes, figure paintings, and sculpture.
Original hand signed limited edition color lithograph on paper
Image: 25"x 18.75" Frame: 28"x 21.75"
Pencil numbered lower left--see photos
Pencil signed lower right--see photos
Looks excellent, in "as found" original condition, no visible wear, fading, or damage, not examined out of the frame, frame has minor wear--please look at photos carefully. Glass is too large and must be removed before shipping.
Please view my other prints listed on ebay this week--we are adding a new bunch every Thursday. If not sold they will go into my ebay store at a more realistic and higher buy-it-now price, or removed.
Biography:
Moshe Elazar Castel born in Jerusalem to his father Rabbi Yehuda Castel and his mother Rachel. They were descendants of a Spanish family which came from Castiie to establish themselves in Israel in 1492.
The family lived for many generations in Hebron. His father, Rabbi Yehuda Castel who was born in Hebron, was a scholar and outstanding Herbalist, wrote parchment and Torah scrolls.
Moshe Castel arrived in Paris in 1927 with the help of his brother Yosef. He attended the Academie Julien and studied at the Louvre Museum. After 13 years of work in Paris, he returned to Israel in 1940, settled in Safed a medieval town of Zohar and Kaballa.
Castel was born in 1909 and died in 1992. He lived in Paris from 1927 until 1940. There he used the backdrop of the street scenes for his subject matter and exhibited his paintings in the salons of Paris. On his return to Israel he became famous for his work using basalt found in the black rock, which is indigenous to several areas of Israel. Many of his paintings are characterized by his creation of what appears to be an ancient form of writing. These symbols are painted in relief utilizing the black rock material. His portraits and street scenes often possess a Spanish influence, probably based on his Castilian Sephardic heritage. The strong reds, greens and blacks are indicative of this phase of his paintings. From 1959 the artist spent his time between Paris, New York and Israel. He is also famous for his large murals, which can be found in many important edifices around the world.
In 1946, he was awarded the Dizengoff Prize on behalf of the Tel-Aviv Municipality. In 1947, he initiated and founded, together with other painters and sculptors the group "New Horizons" ("Offakim Hadashim"). In 1959, he came to Paris, acquired a studio in Montparnasse where he spent a few months every year.
He was awarded the prize, "Premier do Estado", at the Sao Paulo Biennale, Brazil.
1928/40, and he participated in individual and group exhibitions in well known galleries and "salons" in Paris.
In 1955, he had an exhibition on the entire top floor of the Tel Aviv Museum. This was the first exhibition of abstract art in Israel. He also did a mural painting (9 x 4 m) for Hotel Accadia and a mural painting for "El Al" offices at Rockefeller Center, New York. In 1958, he finished the mural glass painting Face to the Future (18x3.5 m) at the National Convention Center, Jerusalem.