Yiddel Mit'n Fiddle, Berl Mit'n Bass..., from Yiddish Motifs
Todros Geller
1926
- Medium
- Woodcut in black ink on Japanese wood veneer paper, laid down on ivory laid paper with letterpress in black ink
- Dimensions
- Image: 25.3 × 20.5 cm (10 × 8 1/8 in.); Wood veneer paper: 28.8 × 22.5 cm (11 3/8 × 8 7/8 in.); Sheet: 43 × 32.5 cm (16 15/16 × 12 13/16 in.)
- Genre
- woodcut
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
printprints and drawingwoodcut (process)woodcutbookpaper (fiber product)
About
Geller’s Yiddish Motifs portfolio depicts scenes of Jewish identity and daily life in a series of seven woodcuts printed on Japanese wood veneer paper, an unusual paper choice, given that it was typically used for decorative purposes. Maxwell Street was a predominantly Jewish neighborhood on the city’s Near West Side, known for its large outdoor bazaar, sadly dismantled in the 1990s by development. These prints show a crowded marketplace, a vendor at work, a student in deep concentration, and a pair of street musicians. The Yiddish Motifs portfolio was a great success, with the entire edition selling out in just three weeks.
