us-005578-irn50723-irn5782
type: RecordSet
physical characterisitics and technical requirements: Large gouache and watercolor painting over a pencil underdrawing on rectangular offwhite aged paper. In the left foreground, a young boy with a scared expression, sits at a desk wearing a green yarmulke and shirt; a large open book is on a table to the right. The boy’s hands are raised and he is turned away from an old bearded man who towers over him. The man has a long, thin face and is wearing a yarmulke and a long blue robe and a blue and white striped tallit. His arm is raised over his head, holding the buckle end of a belt, about to hit the boy. On the right, 3 young boys sit at a table, looking towards the other boy. In the left background is a stand with an open book and 2 lit candles. The back wall has a large, arched, open doorway with stained glass. Hebrew letters, the outline of a horse, and a stick figure are painted on the light brown walls. The artist’s signature is inscribed on the front. There is edge tape on the reverse.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has beginning date: 1948-01-01
has end date: 1958-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
history: The watercolor painting was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1992 by Rose Sigal Ibsen, the widow of Albert Dov Sigal.
history: Albert Dov Sigal was born in 1912 in Cluj-Napoca (Koloszvar), in the Transylvania region, when it was part of Hungary and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the aftermath of World War I (1914-1918), it was conquered by Romania. His parents were Helen and Moses Sigal and he had a sister, Eda. His father died when he was three years old and though his mother worked hard to provide for the family, life was difficult and food was scarce. His family was not religious, though he attended synagogue. But from a young age, he was fascinated by the more joyful, communal life of the devout Hasidim. He joined the Maccabi Hatzair, a Zionist youth and sports organization. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, specializing in painting, enameling, and copper engraving. In 1933, he moved to Bucharest. Albert exhibited widely and his work was acquired by the National Museum in Bucharest. But by 1939, he could not get work. He was arrested and made part of a forced labor battalion that repaired and built roads and railways. He had a near-fatal construction accident and then bribed Romanian authorities to keep him from heavy forced labor, until a non-Jewish Romanian artist friend got him a position in a local museum, Pinacoteca Statului. He joined with a group of artists, led by Maxi, to begin an underground art school. Romania had a long tradition of vicious antisemitism which was emboldened by the rise of Nazi Germany. Following years of near civil war, General Antonescu and the fascist Iron Guard seized power in late 1940. Jewish businesses were confiscated, property destroyed, and physical attacks and the murder of Jews became commonplace. In January 1941, there were pogroms throughout the country; the one in Bucharest had events of great savagery, such as the assembly and murder of dozens of Jews, including Albert’s uncle-in-law, in the slaughterhouse. In mid-1941, he married Rozi Cohn, who was active in the Zionist movement, Hanoar Hatzioni. She was born on August 22, 1922, in…
identifier: irn5782
is or was included in: us-005578-irn50723
record resource extent: overall: Height: 20.500 inches (52.07 cm) | Width: 15.625 inches (39.688 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Gouache and watercolor painting created by Albert Dov Sigal when he lived in Israel from 1948-1958. It depicts, in a caricatured and light-hearted style, a schoolroom interior with a very large bearded teacher preparing to strike one boy with upraised arms with an extremely long strap while three other boys watch from a nearby table. In 1939, Sigal was arrested by the fascist, antisemitic Romanian government and assigned to a forced labor battalion that repaired and built roads and railways. He started an underground art school with a group of friends and was active in the Romanian resistance. On December 27, 1947, he and his family sailed from Burgas, Bulgaria, towards Palestine aboard the Aliyah Bet illegal immigrant ship, Pan York. Palestine was ruled by the British under a United Nations mandate and the postwar immigration policy was very restrictive. Ships attempting to bring unauthorized refugees to the country were stopped and the passengers were interned. Sigal, his wife, Rozi, and their young son, Daniel, were imprisoned in a detention camp on Cyprus on December 31, 1947. Because his son was only 18 months old, Sigal and his family were permitted to enter Palestine on February 22, 1948. On May 14, the state of Israel was established and, within six months, all the refugees on Cyprus were welcomed into the Jewish homeland.
title: Albert Dov Sigal gouache painting of a yeshiva class with a teacher preparing to punish 1 terrified boy with a comically long belt as 3 watch