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Lot Essay
Painted in 1949, Passover Seder describes a subject close to Castel's heart throughout his career, traditional Jewish life and customs. Born in Jerusalem to an old traditional Sephardic family, the smells, colours and images of his childhood in Jerusalem haunted Castel's work in France in the 1930s and in Safed in the 1940s. He grew up on fantastic stories of the bible and the Kabala, and felt that his existence was deeply rooted in the Orient. In the 1968 De Celeyran Castel monograph, the artist was quoted: "... Don't forget my head-start; there was the matter of my family background. These traditions and legends lingered for generations among my people" (M.T. de Celeyran, Castel, Neuchatel, 1968).
In Passover Seder the family is seated around the holiday table, under the Sabbath lamp dressed in traditional oriental clothing. The Temple is depicted in the background, and a bird relating to the Jewish belief of the Shchina hovers above them. The Passover blessing Ha'Lachma Ania, is written in stylized Hebrew calligraphy on the left. The painting relates to ancient manuscripts, as the figures are painted on an isolated, manuscript-like area, in the centre of the canvas.
In Passover Seder the family is seated around the holiday table, under the Sabbath lamp dressed in traditional oriental clothing. The Temple is depicted in the background, and a bird relating to the Jewish belief of the Shchina hovers above them. The Passover blessing Ha'Lachma Ania, is written in stylized Hebrew calligraphy on the left. The painting relates to ancient manuscripts, as the figures are painted on an isolated, manuscript-like area, in the centre of the canvas.