Plate from a catalog of Warsaw types: Jewish usurers fooling a young Gentile
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 19.500 inches (49.53 cm) | Width: 13.500 inches (34.29 cm)
Creator(s)
- Peter Ehrenthal (Compiler)
- Jan F. Piwarski (Artist)
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 etching 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
Plate from a 19th century lithographic catalog of Warsaw types, including many Jewish street vendors, by Jan Felix Piwarski (1794-1859), possibly from his unfinished series, Kram malowniczy warszawski. This print depicts a young man in a fez and two Jewish money lenders as they conclude their business - exchanging a signed contract for a bag of money. Piwarski studied drawing and foreign languages before moving to Warsaw in 1816. In 1818, he was appointed curator of the Print Room at Warsaw University Library. He held this position until 1834 when the University was closed by Czar Nicholas I of Russia following the suppression of the Polish November Uprising. Piworski then had a successful career as a teacher and artist. He invented new lithographic techniques which gave his work a delicate, painterly quality. Piwarski introduced the practice of painting and sketching in the outdoors. He was known for his carefully observed landscapes, and for his numerous series of works depicting people on the streets of Warsaw involved in their daily activities. The folio is one of more than 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
Zincographic print in black ink on paper depicting a young man with a goatee, wearing an embroidered fez and checked jacket, and two older Jewish men in black skullcaps and coats, with sidelocks, long beards, and long, hooked noses. The young man is seated at a table, one hand on the contract and one hand holding a pen. He is looking at the money lender to his right who is speaking to him while holding his right hand to his heart. The other money lender stands slightly behind them holding a bulging cloth sack.
People
- Piwarski, Jan Feliks, 1794-1859--Pictorial works.
Subjects
- Social classes--Poland--19th century--Pictorial works.
- Jews--Poland--19th century--Pictorial works.
- Jewish peddlers--Poland--Warsaw--History--19th century--Pictorial works.
- Warsaw (Poland)--Social conditions--19th century--Pictorial works.
- Art, Polish.
- Artists--Poland--19th century--Pictorial works.
- Warsaw (Poland)--Commerce--History--19th century--Pictorial works.
Genre
- Art
- Object