Fiszel Zylberberg (Zber) (Polish - French, 1909, Plock, Poland -1942, Auschwitz)

Diggers, 1930s, Woodcut on Velin-d'Arches paper ...

Diggers, 1930s, Woodcut on Velin-d'Arches paper, 33 x 25 cm, Plate signed, Signed with the Museum of the Printing Art (Safed, Israel) embossed stamp.

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This woodcut is one of the 39 surviving woodcuts that make up the artistic heritage left of Fiszel Zber who perished in the Holocaust.

The Museum of Printing Art in Safed, Israel, published the collection of the original woodcuts by Fiszel Zber by using the original plates, found in a secluded place in the household of French family in Paris just after the liberation of Paris and saved from total destruction by Abraham Ber (AB) Tzerata (Cerata). 

 AB Tzerata, who was Zber's friend, was a publisher and a Jewish Art collector and one of the founders of The Museum of Printing Art in Zefat.

In 1961, when AB Tzerata immigrated to Israel, he brought with him the original woodblocks (plates) and gave them to the Printing Art Museum where they have been housed: the original woodcuts included in the portfolio were made of them.

All woodcuts in the portfolio were printed on Velin-D'arches paper from the original woodblocks.

The printing was completed in April 1971.

Only 225 numbered copies were published.

The woodcut is marked by a special stamp of The Museum of Printing Art in Safed.

"Fishl Zber was a great woodcut creator, already regarded at the young age as one of the most talented artists in this meticulous and firm graphic art.

Zber's splendid woodcuts are perfect art works. He was an excellent drawer and a genius artist in all fields of printed graphics.

His style in lyricalness has been caused by life, the monumental and the intimate, the legendary and the real"

("The Jewish Art", by Z. Efron, Former director of The Museum of Art Ein Harod, Israel, and Prof. Bezalel C. Roth, Oxford University, "Massada" Publishing, Ramat-Gan, Israel, 1957).

Fiszel Zber's art works are included in the collections of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, The Tel Aviv Museum, Museum of Printing Art, Safed, Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Heritage Museum, Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot (The Ghetto Fightres), Israel, The Museum of Art Ein Harod, Israel, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, and in various private collections in the world.