us-005578-irn50723-irn5783
type: RecordSet
archival history: The watercolor sketch was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1992 by Rose Sigal Ibsen, the wife of Albert Dov Sigal.
biographical 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…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Watercolor painting over pencil underdrawing on thick, square, light brown aged paper depicting a dark brown circle as a framing device for a central wedding scene painted within an irregular rectangle with silver leaf borders with an inked floral design. In the center, a woman in a a white dress and a veil, a man in a white shirt and suit, and another man holding a candle stand before a bearded man in cap and fur collared coat reading from a paper. They stand under a red canopy with red and gold leaf fringe and a Star of David on the top. The canopy poles are held by small 2 boys wearing yarmulkes. On the left are 2 veiled women in purple, and on the right is an older woman wearing a head covering; all holding lit candles. Standing in front of the scene and seen from the back is a young girl with a lit candle. The guests are gathered in the background. Above and below the image are semi-circular accent bars with Hebrew text, interspersed with a floral design, painted in ink with gold and silver leaf. On the reverse are numbers and text inscriptions in ink. reverse, right, handwritten, black ink : 18 ½ x 18 ½ / CIRCLE
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 or had some members with language: heb
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn5783
is or was included in: us-005578-irn50723
record resource extent: overall: Height: 13.125 inches (33.338 cm) | Width: 13.000 inches (33.02 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Watercolor sketch created by Albert Dov Sigal from 1948-1958 when he lived in Israel. The work depicts a dark brown plate with a small rectangular scene of a woman in a white dress and veil with a man in a top hat beneath an red fringed wedding canopy with a Star of David on top held by 2 boys in yarmulkes; a rabbi reads from a paper while guests watch. It was created as a preparatory sketch for a woodcut that would be decorated with silver and enamel. It is a version of the scene portrayed in 1992.113.2. 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 watercolor painting of a circular brown plate with a scene of a bride and groom standing in front of a rabbi under a red fringed chuppah