Painted metal figure of a Jew on skis with an umbrella
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 4.625 inches (11.748 cm) | Width: 6.000 inches (15.24 cm) | Depth: 1.250 inches (3.175 cm)
Creator(s)
- Peter Ehrenthal (Compiler)
Biographical History
The Katz Ehrenthal Collection is a collection of more than 900 objects depicting Jews and antisemitic and anti-Jewish propaganda from the medieval to the modern era, in Europe, Russia, and the United States. The collection was amassed by Peter Ehrenthal, a Romanian Holocaust survivor, to document the pervasive history of anti-Jewish hatred in Western art, politics and popular culture. It includes crude folk art as well as pieces created by Europe's finest craftsmen, prints and periodical illustrations, posters, paintings, decorative art, and toys and everyday household items decorated with depictions of stereotypical Jewish figures.
Archival History
The statue was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016 by the Katz Family.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Katz Family
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
Cut out, painted metal silhouette of a man with stereotypical Jewish features, most noticeably, a huge, hooked nose and red hair, on skies, holding an open black umbrella over his head. A Jew carrying an umbrella was a long standing stereotype, often used to refer to the on the move peddler, or, with more genteel figures, as a sign of the Jews pretentious claim to middle class respectability. European artisans commonly adorned everyday items such as ceramics, toys, and even walking sticks, with Jewish caricatures. This folk art piece is an example of racial antisemitism becoming part of everyday life. This figurine is one of the 900 items in the Katz Ehrenthal Collection of antisemitic artifacts and visual materials.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Painted, thin, hammered, silver colored metal cutout figure of an man in left profile, upright on short, brown skis, holding an open black umbrella over his head. The face and neck are painted silver and he has stereotypical Jewish features: thick eyebrows, hooded eyes, a large, hooked nose, a red/brown beard, and fleshy, red lips. He wears a black skullcap, brown, elbow length, cuffed gloves, long-sleeved blue shirt, knee length dark purple trousers, and black shoes. His legs are yellow, the right one stretched ahead, foot flat on a ski; the other extended behind, heel raised as he pushes off the ski. The back is flat and unpainted. The skis are set on top of a metal strip which is screwed to a heavy, rectangular, gold painted metal block.
Subjects
- Jews--Folk art.
- Jews--Caricatures and cartoons.
- Jews in art--20th century.
- Antisemitism in art--History--20th century.
- Stereotypes (Social psychology) in art.
Genre
- Decorative Arts
- Object