Tel Aviv Pole on Rooftops

Joseph Zaritsky (1891-1985)
Watercolor
Tel Aviv
Gift of Philip Klutznick
B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum Collection

Joseph Zaritsky (1891-1985) was one of Israel’s early, modern artists. He was born in Borispol, which is within Kiev today. In 1923 he made aliyah (immigration to Israel). His artwork mostly included Israel’s urban landscapes of Haifa, Jerusalem, and Tzvat. He soon moved to Tel Aviv to continue painting his series of landscapes. Included in his series were abstract landscapes of the rooftops of Tel Aviv. Often using watercolors, Zaritsky used an artistic language of architectural splashes and expressionist daubs.

Tel Aviv Pole on Rooftops was painted from either his rooftop or studio windows. Blurred images of other buildings’ rooftops fill the bottom to mid portion of the painting. The pole cuts the painting almost in half. Because Tel Aviv is always under construction and filled with the drive to move from its historical barren past to a modern city, the pole truly contains the essence of  the way that Tel Aviv appears to onlookers. The warm earthy colors of the painting invite the viewer to see and appreciate the city of Tel Aviv  in the same way that it was viewed by the artist.