Bialik House
Encyclopedia
Bialik House was the home of the Hebrew national poet Hayyim Nahman Bialik
in Tel Aviv
, Israel
, now a museum.
company under the supervision of Eliezer Kaplan
, later Israel's first minister of finance.
. The two were among a group of architects attempting to develop a "Hebrew style" of architecture, by combining western building forms with stylistic elements characteristic of the Middle East
or thought or known to have been in use in the ancient Jewish kingdoms of Eretz Israel. While the interior is in the Arts and Crafts movement
style, then popular in northern Europe, orientalizing features include a tower, outdoor terraces, domes, pointed-arch windows and extensive tile work.
The most notable tiles are in the first floor reception room. Here, the entryway features a columned archway featuring the tiles produced by the Bezalel school
featuring the designs of Ze'ev Raban
produced as ceramic art tiles. One of the columns has tile cartouches of the twelve months, the other, the twelve tribes of Israel. On the sides are a pair of cartouches, one, the famous "Judea capta" coin issued by the Emperor Titus
after the Roman defeat of the Jewish Revolt of the year 70. The well-known coin shows a woman, Judea, sitting under a palm tree in chains, over her stands the Roman Emperor in armor. The artist riffs on this familiar image with a scene featuring Judea liberated, rising as the chains break.
Hayyim Nahman Bialik
Hayim Nahman Bialik , also Chaim or Haim, was a Jewish poet who wrote in Hebrew. Bialik was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poets and came to be recognized as Israel's national poet.-Biography:...
in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, now a museum.
History
Bialik purchased a plot of land in Tel Aviv through the offices of the Geula company before settling in Palestine in March 1924. The site was a sandy area leading off Allenby Street not far from a hotel under construction that later became the Tel Aviv municipality. A foundation stone-laying ceremony was held in the presence of Bialik's close friends, among them Ahad Haam, a resident of Tel Aviv since 1922. The house was built by the Solel BonehSolel Boneh
Solel Boneh is the oldest, and one of the largest, construction and civil engineering companies in Israel.-History:Solel Boneh was founded in 1921 during the first conference of the General Histadrut, under the name of Batz , an acronym of Binyan veAvodot Tziburiot . Its first project was to pave...
company under the supervision of Eliezer Kaplan
Eliezer Kaplan
Eliezer Kaplan was a Zionist activist, Israeli politician, one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence and the country's first Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister.-Biography:...
, later Israel's first minister of finance.
Architecture
The house was built in 1925 by Joseph Minor, an architect who had studied under Alexander BaerwaldAlexander Baerwald
Alexander Baerwald was a German Jewish architect best known for his work in Haifa, Israel.Baerwald was born in Berlin, Germany on 3 March 1877. He studied at the Technische Hochschule Charlottenburg , interrupted by the summer semester 1898 at the Technische Hochschule of Munich...
. The two were among a group of architects attempting to develop a "Hebrew style" of architecture, by combining western building forms with stylistic elements characteristic of the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
or thought or known to have been in use in the ancient Jewish kingdoms of Eretz Israel. While the interior is in the Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
style, then popular in northern Europe, orientalizing features include a tower, outdoor terraces, domes, pointed-arch windows and extensive tile work.
The most notable tiles are in the first floor reception room. Here, the entryway features a columned archway featuring the tiles produced by the Bezalel school
Bezalel school
The Bezalel school was an art movement in Palestine in the late Ottoman and British Mandate periods. Named for the Bezalel Art School, predecessor of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, it has been described as "a fusion of 'oriental' art and Jugendstil."...
featuring the designs of Ze'ev Raban
Ze'ev Raban
Ze’ev Raban was a leading painter, decorative artist, and industrial designer of the Bezalel school style, and was one of the founders of the Israeli art world.-Life:...
produced as ceramic art tiles. One of the columns has tile cartouches of the twelve months, the other, the twelve tribes of Israel. On the sides are a pair of cartouches, one, the famous "Judea capta" coin issued by the Emperor Titus
Titus
Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....
after the Roman defeat of the Jewish Revolt of the year 70. The well-known coin shows a woman, Judea, sitting under a palm tree in chains, over her stands the Roman Emperor in armor. The artist riffs on this familiar image with a scene featuring Judea liberated, rising as the chains break.