The Seidenbeutel brothers were Polish Jewish artists who were twins. Efraim Seidenbeutel and Menasze Seidenbeutel were born on December 7, 1907. They were killed in 1945, at the Flossenbürg concentration camp. They had two brothers who were also artists: Józef, the oldest, was a painter, and Hirsz, the youngest, was a sculptor.
Art
The Seidenbeutels are considered "Interwar Artists" and painted in the Post-expressionism of ÃÂcole de Paris. They painted mostly landscapes and still life scenes. The twins had a unique way of working; one brother would start a painting and the other brother would finish it. They would sign the painting with just their surname. Even the works the twins created separately have an almost identical style.
Biography
The Seidenbeutels were born in Warsaw. Their father, Abraham, was a textile trader, and their mother took care of the eight children. Efraim's and Menasze's six siblings included Józef, the oldest, who was also a painter and Hirsz, who was younger and was a sculptor.
Education
The Seidenbeutels signed up for painting studies in 1921, at the Municipal School of Decorative Arts. In 1922, their sculpture titled âÂÂThe Portrait of Anskiâ was shown at the 4th Exhibition of Paintings and Sculptures organized by the Jewish community. Thereafter, they became students at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where they belonged to the elitist group "Four" set up by the Rector Tadeusz Pruszkowski. remembers that the twins enrolled in school as one student, paid one fee, and took turns attending classes.
The pre-war years
The Seidenbeutels had their studio at the Jewish dorm on Sierakowskiego Street in the Warsaw district of Praga. Frequently, they would go on field trips to small villages and paint en plein air. One of the towns they visited frequently was Kazimierz Dolny. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, they would arrive for a 'season' carrying over 24 stretched canvases each, and complete them in 30âÂÂ60 days. These canvases would be exhibited in Warsaw and Kraków and would sell out. They met with other artists and inspired younger ones, such as Chaim Goldberg. They met Goldberg when he was eight-years old and bought him en plein air gouache; it was Goldberg's first sale.
The Holocaust Years
During World War II and the Nazi occupation, the Seidenbeutels were confined within the BiaÃ
Âystok Ghetto where they worked at the House of Art in the army. They may have belonged to a group of painters, set up by Oskar Steffens, who copied reproductions of paintings by old masters. The twins were later sent to the Stutthof concentration camp, from which they were marched to the death camp in Flossenbürg. They were executed by the campâÂÂs guards one day before the camp was liberated. Izaak Celnikier, also a painter, was a witness to their deaths.
Their unique bond
The Seidenbeutels had a unique bond that intrigues experts to the present day. One brother would start a painting while the other completed it, and the signature was their surname. They signed their paintings this way even when completing a painting individually.
Their similar looks became the subject of jokes, the most popular of which is the following:
List of art works
Works executed jointly:
- Portret An-skiego (Portrait of An-ski) (1921), relief
- Widok z okna (Window view) (1930) oil on canvas, 88ÃÂ76, in the harvest Muzeum Sztuki w Ã
Âodzi
- Martwa natura z kwiatami (Still life with flowers) oil on a glass 69,5ÃÂ60,8, in private collections
- Droga do wioski (Road to the village) (ok. 1938)
- Studium kobiety z kwiatami (Study of a woman with flowers) (ok. 1930) oil on plywood, 72,5ÃÂ61, in the harvest Muzeum Narodowego w Szczecinie
- Bukiet kwiatów w wazonie (A bouquet of flowers in a vase) (ok. 1930), oil on canvas, 80,5ÃÂ69,5, in private collections
- Wioska (The village) oil on canvas 64,8ÃÂ79,5
- Dziewczyna z goÃ
ÂÃÂ
bkiem (The girl with a dove) oil on canvas, 73,2ÃÂ59,7, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- Dziewczyna z koszem owoców (Girl with a basket of fruit)
- Widok na farÃÂ w Kazimierzu (View of the parish church in Kazimierz) oil on plywood 47ÃÂ33, in private collections
- Mury Kazimierskie (Kazimierz Walls) oil on cardboard, 39ÃÂ22, in private collections
- Martwa natura (Still life) (ok. 1930) oil on canvas, 80,5ÃÂ71, in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw
- Martwa natura (Still life) 70ÃÂ49, in private collections
- Ulica Krakowska (Krakowska Street)
- PejzaÃ
¼ z domami (Landscape with houses)
- Siostry (1935) (Sisters)
- MÃ
Âoda kobieta z kwiatami (Young woman with flowers)
- ZamyÃ
Âlona (Pensive)
- Kobieta w szalu (The woman in the scarf)
- Dwie dziewczyny z owocami (Two girls with fruit)
- Dwie dziewczynki (Two girls)
- Postaci w pejzaÃ
¼u (Figures in the landscape) (ok. 1930), oil on canvas
- Portret mÃÂÃ
¼czyzny w okularach (Portrait of a man with glasses), oil on cardboard, 36,5ÃÂ32,5, in private collections
- Ulice miasta/ Widok miasta (City streets/ City view) (on the reverse), oil on board, 50ÃÂ61, in private collections
- Motyw z Helu (Theme from Hel) (ok. 1935), 60ÃÂ71,5, oil on board, in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw
- PrzedmieÃ
Âcie fabryczne (Factory suburb) (1937), oil on plywood, 61ÃÂ70, in the collection of the District Museum in Bielsko-BiaÃ
Âa
- Uliczka w Skoczowie (A street in Skoczów)
- PrzydroÃ
¼na topola (Roadside poplar) (ok. 1938), 64,5ÃÂ89,6, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- Motyw ze Ã
ÂlÃÂ
ska CieszyÃ
Âskiego (Theme from Cieszyn Silesia) (1937), oil on canvas, 60ÃÂ73,5, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- Widok z portu (View from the port) (ok. 1931), 42ÃÂ45, oil on board, in private collections
- Motyw z zagÃ
ÂÃÂbia naftowego (A theme from the oil basin) (1938)
- Koncert (Concert)
- Zmrok (Nightfall)
- Dzieci
- GoÃ
ÂÃÂbiarz (Sniper)
- RowerzyÃ
Âci (Bikers) (1934)
- Matka z dzieckiem (Mother with baby)
- Dziewczyna z goÃ
ÂÃÂbiem (The girl with the pigeon), oil on canvas, 80,5ÃÂ65,8, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- PrzedmieÃ
Âcia Krakowa (The suburbs of Kraków) (1934), oil on plywood, 61ÃÂ75, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- Portret Moniki Ã
»eromskiej (Portrait of Monika Ã
»eromska) (1935)
- Martwa natura ze skrzypcami (Still life with a violin)
- Barka na WiÃ
Âle (Barge on the Vistula) (ok. 1930), in the collection of the Museum in Ein Harod
- Martwa natura z fajkÃÂ
(Still life with a pipe) (1930)
- Przy kuÃ
ºni (At the forge) (1936)
- Przy pracy (During work) (1936)
- Ulica w miasteczku z doroÃ
¼kÃÂ
i stoÃ
Âem przed domem/ Kobieta z owocami na paterze (A street in a town with a horse-drawn carriage and a table in front of the house/ Woman with fruit on a plate) (on the reverse)
- Willa w ogrodzie (Villa in the garden) oil on plywood, 44ÃÂ48, in the collection of the Museum of Art in Ã
ÂódÃ
º
- Widok z tarasu (View from the terrace) (ok. 1935), 60ÃÂ70, in private collections
- Ã
»Ã³Ã
Âte róÃ
¼e (Yellow roses) (1932) oil on canvas, 83ÃÂ73, in the collection of the Museum of Art in Ã
ÂódÃ
º
- Portret dziewczynki z kwiatami (Portrait of a girl with flowers) 87ÃÂ62,5, in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw link
- Martwa natura (na obrusie w kratÃÂ) (Still life (on the checkered tablecloth)), oil on canvas, 73ÃÂ93, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- Miejska uliczka (City street) oil on canvas, 78ÃÂ70, in private collections
- Widok miasta (City view), oil on cardboard, 27ÃÂ44,5, in private collections
- PejzaÃ
¼ wiejski (Rural landscape) (ok. 1930) oil on canvas, 64,5ÃÂ72, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- PejzaÃ
¼ maÃ
Âomiasteczkowy z koÃ
ÂcioÃ
Âem w tle (A provincial landscape with a church in the background) (ok. 1933-35), oil on plywood, 62ÃÂ70, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- Martwa natura we wnÃÂtrzu (Still life in the interior) (ok. 1935-39), oil on canvas, 80ÃÂ100, in private collections
- Jarmark (Fair), 25ÃÂ35, watercolor, gouache, ink on paper, in the collection of the Rynek Sztuki Gallery in Ã
ÂódÃ
º
Works by Efraim
- Kulisy (Behind the scenes)
- Widok z okna (Window view) (before 1934), oil on canvas, 98.3 ÃÂ 79.3, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- Martwa natura (Still life) (circa 1930), 80.5 ÃÂ 71, in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw
- Martwa natura z prymulkÃÂ
(Still life with a primula) (1934), oil on canvas, 70 ÃÂ 49, in a private collection
- ChÃ
Âopiec z lampÃÂ
naftowÃÂ
(Boy with an oil lamp)
- Akt (Act)
- ChÃ
Âopiec puszczajÃÂ
cy baÃ
Âki mydlane (A boy blowing soap bubbles)
- Julka, in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum
- Gitarzysta (Guitarist)
- ChÃ
Âopiec (Boy)
- Portret brata (Portrait of a brother)
- Port rybacki w Gdyni (Fishing port in Gdynia)
- Motyw Helu (Hel motif)
- Gladiole (Gladiolus) (1934)
- Studium chÃ
Âopca (A boy study) (1933)
- Magda (1936)
- Kazimierz nad WisÃ
ÂÃÂ
(Kazimierz on the Vistula), in the collection of the Museum in Ein Harod
- Sprzedawczyni jabÃ
Âek (Apple seller), in the collection of the Museum in Ein Harod
- Martwa natura z zielonÃÂ
butelkÃÂ
(Still life with a green bottle) (circa 1940), oil on canvas, 57 ÃÂ 71, in the collection of the Museum of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
Works by Menasze:
- ChÃ
Âopiec z wÃÂdkÃÂ
(A boy with a fishing rod) 100 ÃÂ 83.5, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- Portret mÃÂÃ
¼czyzny w kapeluszu (Portrait of a man in a hat) oil on canvas, 58.5 à46.2, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- PrzystaÃ
 (Harbor) (1931), 43 à47, oil on plywood, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- Widok na Kazimierz nad WisÃ
ÂÃÂ
(View of Kazimierz on the Vistula River) (1930), oil on canvas, in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw
- Widok na Kazimierz nad WisÃ
ÂÃÂ
(View of Kazimierz on the Vistula River), 72.6 ÃÂ 65.5, oil on canvas, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- Widok na Kazimierz nad WisÃ
ÂÃÂ
(View of Kazimierz on the Vistula River), 72 ÃÂ 77.2, oil on canvas, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- Rynek w Kazimierzu (The market square in Kazimierz) (1934), oil on plywood, 40 ÃÂ 50, private collection
- Ã
Âódka (Boat), in the collection of the Museum in Ein Harod
- Mulatka (1931), (1931), oil on canvas, 60 ÃÂ 48, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- Martwa natura (Still life) (1930), oil on canvas, 83 ÃÂ 72, in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw
- ZauÃ
Âek w Kazimierzu nad WisÃ
ÂÃÂ
(Alley in Kazimierz on the Vistula) (circa 1930-32), oil on plywood, 38.9 ÃÂ 41, in the collection of the Jewish Historical Institute
- Motyw z Helu (Theme from Hel)
- Widok na Wawel' (View of the Wawel Castle)
- Martwa natura (Still life) (1940)
List of exhibitions
- 1922 IV Exhibition of Pictures and Sculptures
- 1930 Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts, Warsaw
- 1931 PoznaÃ
Â
- 1931 IPS, Ã
ÂódÃ
º
- 1931 Geneva, Musee Rath
- 1933 IPS, Warsaw (two exhibitions)
- 1933 College Art Association, New York
- 1933 TPSP
- 1934 XIX Biennale, Venice
- 1934 Riga
- 1835 Brussels
- 1936 IPS, Warsaw
- 1936 IPS, Lviv
- 1938 Moravian Ostrava
- 1939 IPS, Warsaw
- 1939 TPSP
- 1939 London
References
Primary references
- (Monika Ã
»eromska, Wspomnienia, CzÃÂÃ
ÂÃÂ 1. Czytelnik, 1993, p. 145)
- (T. Wittlin, Ostatnia cyganeria. Czytelnik, 1989, pp. 147âÂÂ149.)
- (The Virtual Shtetl Project) The Virtual Shtetl Project
- (The Official Website of the Artist Chaim Goldberg) http://chaimgoldberg.com/chaimgoldberg//staticPage.php?id=1
Research references
- Grób Szpryncy Seidenbeutel w bazie danych Cmentarza Ã
»ydowskiego przy ul. Okopowej w Warszawie
- Abraham Rotsztejn (born on 20.10.1934 in San Paolo, Brasil) about his maternal family from Warsaw.
- 3,0 3,1 3,2 3,3 3,4 3,5 3,6 3,7 3,8 3,9 Jerzy Malinowski: Seidenbeutel Efraim, Seidenbeutel Jerzy, Seidenbeutel Menasze. W: Polski SÃ
Âownik Biograficzny XXXVI Zeszyt 149. 1995, s. 163âÂÂ167.
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902-1945: PoÃ
Âród braci...: obrazy / Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902-1945: Among the brothers: pictures. Kazimierz Dolny: Muzeum NadwiÃ
ÂlaÃ
Âskie, 2007, s. 14. .
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 16
- 6,00 6,01 6,02 6,03 6,04 6,05 6,06 6,07 6,08 6,09 6,10 6,11 6,12 6,13 MaÃ
Âgorzata Witek-CzyÃ
Âska. Efraim i Menasze Seidebeutlowie â dzieÃ
Âo wspólne. âÂÂGazeta AntykwarycznaâÂÂ. 70 (1), 2002.
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 35
- WiesÃ
Âaw BudzyÃ
Âski: Miasto Schulza. PrószyÃ
Âski i S-ka, 2005, s. 401. .
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 37
- J. Jaworska: Nie wszystek umrà...: twórczoÃ
Âàplastyczna Polaków w hitlerowskich wiÃÂzieniach i obozach koncentracyjnych, 1939-1945. KsiÃÂ
Ã
¼ka i Wiedza, 1975, s. 40.
- List of the Jews Deported from the Bialystok Prison to Concentration Camp Stutthof on November 21, 1943 (ang.). [dostÃÂp 2009-10-11].
- Szlak Dziedzictwa Ã
»ydowskiego w BiaÃ
Âymstoku. [dostÃÂp 2009-10-10].
- The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names: Pages of Testimony (ang.). [dostÃÂp 11 paÃ
ºdziernika 2009].
- The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names: Pages of Testimony (ang.). [dostÃÂp 11 paÃ
ºdziernika 2009].
- The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names: Pages of Testimony (ang.). [dostÃÂp 11 paÃ
ºdziernika 2009].
- 16,0 16,1 Zwoje (The Scrolls) 3 (28), 2001. [dostÃÂp 2009-10-10].
- 17,0 17,1 17,2 Monika Ã
»eromska: Wspomnienia, CzÃÂÃ
ÂÃÂ 1. Czytelnik, 1993, s. 145. .
- 18,0 18,1 Antoni Uniechowski: Antoni Uniechowski o sobie i innych. Iskry, 1966, s. 121âÂÂ124.
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945...' s. 8
- 20,0 20,1 Tadeusz Wittlin: Ostatnia cyganeria. Czytelnik, 1989, s. 147-149. .
- WÃ
Âodzimierz Bartoszewicz: Buda na PowiÃ
Âlu. PIW, 1966.
- Jan Zamoyski: Ã
Âukaszowcy: malarze i malarstwo Bractwa Ã
Âw. Ã
Âukasza. Wydawnictwa Artystyczne i Filmowe, 1989, s. 52. .
- Leopold Infeld: Szkice z przeszÃ
ÂoÃ
Âci: wspomnienia. PaÃ
Âstwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1964, s. 40.
- Hanna Mortkowicz-Olczakowa: Bunt wspomnieÃ
Â. PaÃ
Âstwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1961, s. 339.
- Felicja Lilpop Krance: Powroty. 1991, s. 38.
- MaÃ
Âgorzata Kitowska-Ã
Âysiak: Schulzowskie marginalia. Wydawn. KUL, 2007, s. 131.
- WiesÃ
Âaw BudzyÃ
Âski: Miasto Schulza. PrószyÃ
Âski i S-ka, 2005, s. 401. .
- Joanna Pollakówna: Byli bracia malarze... : o Ã
¼yciu i malowaniu braci Efraima i Menasze Seidenbeutlów. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Hotel Sztuki, 2002. .
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945...' s. 26
- 30,0 30,1 Jerzy Malinowski, Barbara Brus-Malinowska: Malarstwo i rzeÃ
ºba Ã
¼ydów polskich w XIX i XX wieku. Warszawa: Wydawn. Naukowe PWN, 2000. .
- Waldemar Odorowski: Malarze Kazimierza nad WisÃ
ÂÃÂ
. Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, 1991, s. 70.
- Andrzej K. Olszewski: Dzieje sztuki polskiej 1890-1980 w zarysie. Wydawn. Interpress, 1988, s. 62. .
- 33,0 33,1 Irena Kossowska: Kultura polska: Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutel. luty 2005. [dostÃÂp 2009-10-11].
- T. CzyÃ
¼ewski. Z wystaw: Jeszcze kilku mÃ
Âodych w IPS-i.e. âÂÂProsto z Mostu: tygodnik literacko-artystycznyâÂÂ. 5 (6), s. 7, 1939.
- Kolekcja sztuki XX/XXI w.. [dostÃÂp 2009-10-11].
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 57
- Martwa natura z kwiatami. [dostÃÂp 2009-10-12].
- Droga do wioski. [dostÃÂp 2009-10-12].
- Bukiet kwiatów w wazonie. [dostÃÂp 2009-10-12].
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 70
- 41,0 41,1 41,2 Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 26
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 61
- Martwa natura. [dostÃÂp 2009-10-12].
- 44,0 44,1 Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 27
- 45,0 45,1 45,2 Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 24
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 25
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 90
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 65
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 84-85
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- 55,0 55,1 Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 28
- 56,0 56,1 Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 29
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 66
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- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 92-93
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- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 31
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902âÂÂ1945... s. 30
Further reading
- Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902-1945: PoÃ
Âród braci...: obrazy / Efraim i Menasze Seidenbeutlowie 1902-1945: Among the brothers: pictures. Kazimierz Dolny: Muzeum NadwiÃ
ÂlaÃ
Âskie, 2007
- Joanna Pollakówna: Byli bracia malarze... : o Ã
¼yciu i malowaniu braci Efraima i Menasze Seidenbeutlów. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Hotel Sztuki, 2002
External links