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Femmes Fatales, Biblical Heroines, and Sensual Beauties
Ephraim Moses Lilien (1874–1925) was one of the most important Jewish artists of modern times. As a successful illustrator, photographer, painter, and printer, he became known as the “first major Zionist” artist. Surprisingly, there has been little in-depth scholarly research and analysis of Lilien's work available in English.
In this article, I summarize my research findings from my recent monograph, Gender, Orientalism and the Jewish Nation (Bloomsbury Press, 2020), and consider how radical Lilien’s complex depictions of women were for this period. Most of the historiography on Lilien has concentrated on his iconography of the muscular [male] Jewish body, discussed among scholars of Zionist art historiography. There has been little debate on his images of the modern Jewess. Like other vanguard male artists at the end of the nineteenth century, painting continued to be a male preserve. His work mirrored the misogyny inherent among non-Jewish avant-garde artists. Ironically, as a secular Zionist, Lilien pushed the limits of Jewish visual representation in the interests of Jewish cultural literacy. This paper considers that paradox in regard to the burgeoning interest at the fin de siecle in German Orientalism and the tensions inherent in the navigation of German Jewish identity.
Using an interdisciplinary approach to integrate intellectual and cultural history with issues of gender, Jewish history, and visual culture, this article explores fin-de-siècle tensions between European and Oriental expressions of Jewish femininity. Lilien's female images offer a compelling glimpse of an alternate, independent, and often sexually liberated modern Jewish woman.
Journal Article
Jewish Literature in German Clothing…?
As in the case of Franz Kafka and other authors like Franz Werfel, Joseph Roth, Arthur Schnitzler or Leo Perutz, it is necessary to take seemingly secondary or even hidden allusions to Jewishness very seriously. Only then it is possible to achieve a better, deeper and even completely new understanding of their works. Following on from H. G. Gadamer we must acknowledge that Jewish authors like their readers understand their texts in a fundamentally different way than Christians, due to their own horizon of understanding.
Journal Article
Prague German Circle(s): Stable Values in Turbulent Times? An Introduction
This introductory essay revisits the concept of “Prague German Literature,” focusing on the Prague Circle’s engagement with enduring humanistic values amid early twentieth-century upheaval. While Franz Kafka is one of the most well-known authors of the twentieth century, this essay (and the Special Issue) highlights lesser-known Czech German authors and engages with the criticisms of the definitional boundaries of terms like “circle” and “school.” Drawing on recent scholarship, it situates these writers within Prague’s multilingual, multiethnic context and challenges postmodern approaches that reduce the literature to power discourse. Instead, it advocates for renewed attention to moral ambiguity, cultural mediation, and universal human concerns. Revisiting foundational scholars such as Max Brod, H. G. Adler, and Margarita Pazi, the essay also engages contemporary critics who propose more nuanced models of literary affiliation. Ultimately, this essay argues for the continued relevance of these authors in fostering intercultural dialog and reflecting on the (in)stability of values in times of crisis, framing the contributions of this Special Issue.
Journal Article
The Kaiser's last kiss
\"Follows the exiled Kaiser Wilhelm, the young Nazi officer assigned to guard him, and the Jewish maid who unwittingly comes between them\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Rudolf Fuchs: An Underestimated Cultural Intermediary and Social Critic in Times of Conflict
Rudolf Fuchs (1890–1942) was an influential figure in Prague’s early 20th-century literary scene as well as an intermediary between German and Czech literature at a time of intense social and political transformation. This study places Fuchs’ work within the broader context of his period, underscoring his significant, yet often overlooked, contributions to cultural mediation. The methods employed in this study include a detailed examination of Fuchs’ literary output and translations, alongside an analysis of his correspondence with contemporaries, to trace the evolution of his thinking from an initial alignment with Expressionism to a strong commitment to socialism. The results highlight Fuchs’ role in enhancing intercultural understanding, revealing how his translations and personal ideologies shaped the literary landscape of German–Czech relations. The study asserts the enduring relevance of Fuchs’ endeavors, particularly in the modern European sociopolitical climate. It also yields insights into the management of cultural diversity and ideological conflicts, as well as the upholding of social values amidst political volatility.
Journal Article
Traces of a Jewish Artist
Graphic artist, illustrator, painter, and cartoonist Rahel
Szalit (1888-1942) was among the best-known Jewish women artists in
Weimar Berlin. But after she was arrested by the French police and
then murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz, she was all but lost to
history, and most of her paintings have been destroyed or gone
missing. Drawing on a range of primary and secondary sources, this
biography recovers Szalit's life and presents a stunning collection
of her art.
Szalit was a sought-after artist. Highly regarded by art
historians and critics of her day, she made a name for herself with
soulful, sometimes humorous illustrations of Jewish and world
literature by Sholem Aleichem, Heinrich Heine, Leo Tolstoy, Charles
Dickens, and others. She published her work in the mainstream
German and Jewish press, and she ran in artists' and queer circles
in Weimar Berlin and in 1930s Paris. Szalit's fascinating life
demonstrates how women artists gained access to Jewish and
avant-garde movements by experimenting with different media and
genres.
This engaging and deeply moving biography explores the life,
work, and cultural contexts of an exceptional Jewish woman artist.
Complementing studies such as Michael Brenner's The Renaissance
of Jewish Culture in Weimar Germany , this book brings Rahel
Szalit into the larger conversation about Jewish artists,
Expressionism, and modern art.
eBook