“Mizrach” Wall Plaque in Alsatian Style, with Remarkable Illustrations – by an Artist from Strasbourg – Germany, 1820

“Mizrach” Wall Plaque in Alsatian Style, with Remarkable Illustrations – by an Artist from Strasbourg – Germany, 1820

"Mizrach" wall plaque, handwritten and hand-painted. Created by Jacob Haas, native of Strasbourg, on behalf of Mordechai ben Aharon Westheimer and his wife "the Officer" Mme. Rivkah. Niedenstein, Germany, 23rd of Av, 5580 [August 1820].
Colored ink on paper.
"Mizrach" wall plaque to be hung on the eastern wall of a private home. Created in Alsatian style by an artist from Strasbourg residing in Germany.
The word "Mizrach" ("East") is the dominant feature at the center of the plaque. Above this are the (Hebrew) words "Mitzad zeh ruach chayyim" ("From this direction [comes] the spirit of life"). To the left of the word "Mizrach" is a dedicatory inscription in Hebrew and Yiddish-German bearing the name of the artist who created the plaque, and the name of the person who presumably commissioned it: "Created and written on Thursday, the 23rd of Menachem Av […] by the young man Jacob Haas, a teacher here in Niedenstein, native of Strasbourg. Mordechai Westheimer"; the rest of the dedication is inscribed inside a circle appearing beneath the word "Mizrach": "On order of […] son of Honored Rabbi Aharon Westheimer and his wife the Officer Mme. Rivkah, Niedenstein". The Mishnaic teaching "Return one day prior to your death" (Avot 2:10) appears in the middle of the upper margin, and in each of the four corners there are circles bearing various (Hebrew) inscriptions: "From the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof the Lord’s name is to be praised…" (Psalms 113:3); "A man worries over the loss of his monies and worries not over the loss of his days" (old Jewish proverb, anonymous); "Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field" (Deuteronomy 28:3); and "Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out" (Deuteronomy 28:6).
Interestingly, the words "Return one day prior to your death" do not often appear on items of Judaica in general, and especially not on "Mizrach" wall plaques. For this reason – and also on account of the prominence of the color black – it is quite possible that this particular "Mizrach" wall plaque was also meant to be what is known as a "memento mori" wall plaque, whose purpose is to serve as a constant reminder of the inevitable day of death. Only a handful of plaques of this nature bearing Hebrew inscriptions are known to exist.
The present wall plaque bears extraordinarily unusual illustrations, in terms of both their subject matter and the technique used to create them. In these regards, they are decidedly atypical of "Mizrach" wall plaques, and items of Judaica in general. They do, however, appear on two additional known Alsatian "Mizrach" plaques (see below). The layout of the plaque is symmetrical, and it bears illustrations of a (smoking) pipe, a feather quill pen, pince-nez eyeglasses, and three playing cards. In addition to these, an illustration of an envelope addressed to "the Officer, the Honored Rabbi Mordechai, may his Rock and Redeemer protect him" overlies the feather quill, stamped with a wax seal bearing the initials "MW" for Mordechai Westheimer. Features such as these are associated with a painting technique known in French as "trompe-l'œil" (lit. "to deceive the eye"), a technique which employs imagery familiar from daily life in such a manner as to create an optical illusion. In the example here, the optical illusion is achieved thanks to the fact that the entire sheet is colored in black, and all the illustrations and decorative framing are in effect produced by simply leaving parts of the sheet blank, in its original color. The remaining decorations, inscriptions, and shading, with other colors included, are then added in.
Presumably, the artist’s Alsatian origins and his exposure to French culture served as influences in his artistic style, particularly with regard to this specific work. For comparison, see a similar wall plaque produced in Haguenau in 1858: Les Juifs d'Alsace: Village, Tradition, Emancipation, by Ester Muchawsky-Schnapper. Jerusalem, the Israel Museum, 1991, item no. 26 (French and Hebrew); and an additional plaque, presumably created in Metz (1799): the Jewish Museum, New York, item no. F4915 (Treasures of the Jewish Museum, 1986, pp. 120-121).
A small Jewish community resided in Niedenstein (near Kassel), Germany, beginning in the 17th century. The 120 Jews who reportedly lived there in 1834 represented roughly 20 percent of the small town’s overall population of 610.

24X21 cm. Overall good condition. Stains. Minor tears and a number of small holes. Framed.

Exhibition: Jodendom: een boek vol verhalen. Amsterdam, De Nieuwe Kerk, 2011-2012.
Provenance:
1. Tajan Judaica, Paris, 7 April 1994, lot no. 44.
2. The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 056.011.037.