Deer

Painted in 1917, an image of a grazing deer and some fruits (grapes, lemons, melon and grenade) is one of the earliest saved works of the artist. The deer motive, common in Szwarc’s work, has its roots in the Jewish religious tradition. Grazing deer is a symbol of the Israeli people coming back from their Exile to their motherland. It is also an emblematic sign of Israel’s redemption at the time of the coming of the Messiah. (The Book of Isaiah 35:6). In constant search of a Jewish style in modern avant-garde art, artists from Yung-Yidish very often referred to the traditional Jewish art – synagogue polychromy, or of the symbolics of matzevas. RP