Title:

Cluj Jewish Community Synagogue Art Collection

Description:

The artwork and photographs in this digital collection were found in 2016 in the choir loft or attic of the former Neologue synagogue of Cluj. They were photographed on-site and the digital images are now available through the present online catalogue. The original pieces have remained in the Cluj synagogue and are the property of the Cluj Jewish Community. Very few of the pieces contained information regarding their creators or subjects. In the case that there was an artist signature or other provenance indication, this information is provided on the respective digital image record (see digital material affiliated with this record). Many of the portraits appear to have been local community leaders or other well-known Jewish figures (Theodor Herzl). Most of the pieces appear to date to the pre-World War II period, though a collection of paintings (of the Cluj synagogue, the Wailing Wall, etc) seem as recent as the late 20th century. There are two large, framed montages: one depicts the interwar Neologue community leadership and the other contains photographs of teaching staff and pupils at the Jewish school in 1947. In addition to the complete montages, close-ups of individual photographs within these montages are provided on the JBAT website. To view the individual images, please click on the digitized material thumbnail to the right. Each image includes a title (designated by Leo Baeck archivists if no title was provided), the dimensions of the piece and any other information available (this was rarely the case). If you can identify any of the individuals or content in the images, please contact the director of the JBAT project, Julie Dawson at jdawson [at] lbi.cjh.org.

Creator:

Unknown (various artists)

Date:

Late 19th century-late 20th century

Format:

Graphic records

Extent:

23 images

Language:

Hungarian; Romanian; Hebrew

Provenance:

The original artwork and photographs used to create this digital collection were found in 2016 in the choir loft or attic of the former Neologue Synagogue of Cluj. There was no indication as to how and when they came to be there or who had placed them there. Some of the pieces date to the pre-war period and, presumably, were deposited by survivors in the synagogue after the war. Others are more contemporary pieces and were, perhaps, gifted to the community or created by community members sometime in the more recent past.

Access Rights:

In order to view the original artwork or photographs please contact the Jewish Community of Cluj. In 2016, the art pieces were stored in the former choir loft of the Neologue Synagogue.

Call Number:

Cluj Jewish Community Synagogue Art Collection

Bibliographic Citation:

Cluj Jewish Community Synagogue Art Collection; Arhivele Comunităţii Evreilor din Cluj (Archives of the Jewish Community of Cluj)

Repository:

Cluj Jewish Community; Strada Tipografei Nr. 25; 400101 Cluj România; comevcluj@upcmail.ro; www.facebook.com/comevcluj; www.comevcluj.ro; tel. 0040 (0)264 596 600

View Digitized Material

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