Naftali Wahba Bezem (; November 27, 1924 – October 2, 2018) was an Israeli painter, muralist and sculptor.
Biography
Naftali Bezem was born in Essen, Germany, in 1924. His early adolescence was spent under
Nazi oppression, in constant fear for the safety of his parents, who were later murdered in Auschwitz concentration camp. Naftali
aliyah to Mandate Palestine in 1939, at the age of fourteen, with a
Youth Aliyah group. From 1943 to 1946, he studied art at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in
Jerusalem with Israeli painter
Mordecai Ardon. He then spent three years studying in
Paris. Bezem's son Yitzhak was killed in the 1975 Zion Square refrigerator bombing in downtown
Jerusalem.
Art career
In addition to painting and sculpture, Bezem created murals, wall reliefs, tapestries, and stained glass windows.
His most famous public works include a wall relief at
Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and the ceiling mural in the main reception room at the
President's Residence, Jerusalem.
Awards and recognition
See also
Further reading
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Naftali Bezem, Jerusalem, Debel Gallery, Ein Kerem, 1980
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Ted W. Gross, Ben-Dov and I. Mintzer, The Passover Haggadah Illustrated by Naftali Bezem, Tel Aviv, 1982.
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Matthias Kohn, Naftali Bezem, Bern, Benteli Verlag, 1998 (Editions in German and in English).
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Open Museum, Naftali Bezem - Rope Ladder 1996-1999, Open Museum, 2000.
External links
