Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the founding of Israel, Israeli Painting charts the winding course of Israeli art in the twentieth centurySome would say that its history began bleakly, with an absence of tradition and an approach regional in concept and application: Israel in the early twentieth century was enormously far from world art centers, its art enormously far from aesthetic precursors. But like the artist with her singular vision, Israeli art progressed courageously, improvising, defying all while combining regional conditions with standards and qualities introduced by European immigrant artists.And so a definable Israeli style of painting emerges, reflecting the mixed influences of artists from other countries, of other art schools, with other techniques, and the Israeli political and geographic environment, including the strong, cold light of Israel. From the first Israeli artists whose imaginations were fired by the local landscapes and Arab inhabitants, to the New Horizons movement and its abstract artists, Israeli Painting reveals a body of art rich in quality and talent.The first book to cover modern Israeli painting in depth, Israeli Painting spotlights the work of exceptional Israeli artists and various aspects of their work. It is the only volume of its kind and certain to become the standard work on the subject.
