Jacob Kramer 1892-1962
The Day of Atonement is a study for a larger painting regarded as one of the most important in the Anglo-Jewish canon, gifted to Leeds Art Gallery by the local Jewish community in 1920 to mark Kramer’s departure for London. Drawing on contemporary influences, including Cubism, Futurism and Vorticism, Kramer treated the subject of devotion during Yom Kippur, the most solemn day in the Jewish religious calendar, with a new modernist vocabulary.
After leaving the Slade, Kramer had striven to achieve a spiritual quality in his art without jettisoning his modernist credentials and in 1918 a design for a woodcut, entitled The Day of Atonement, appeared in the sole issue of the literary review New Paths, co-edited by Michael Sadleir, son of his patron. Here the procession was simplified to six angular figures; those at the front tilting their mask-like features upwards in poses that anticipate the painting. The text described Kramer as: ‘far more essentially Hebraic in his outlook than Gertler, whose Jewish extraction seems over emphasised. Kramer is a grim bitter realist […] Kramer obtains the effect of Primitivism through a ruthless elimination of all that is unessential’.
Provenance
purchasedExhibitions
William Roberts & Jacob Kramer: The Tortoise and the HareLiterature
Sarah MacDougall ed., 'William Rothenstein and his Circle' (London: Ben Uri Gallery, 2016) pp. 110-111; Rachel Dickson and Sarah MacDougall, eds., 'Out of Chaos: Ben Uri; 100 Years in London' (London: Ben Uri Gallery, 2015) pp. 50-51.; Walter Schwabe and Julia Weiner, eds., Jewish Artists: the Ben Uri Collection - Paintings, Drawings, Prints and Sculpture (London: Ben Uri Art Society in association with Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd, 1994), p. 62.Be the first to know – Sign Up
Subscribe to our newsletter and be the first to know about everything new at Ben Uri, including the constantly evolving and expansive online content across our exhibitions, collection and research.
We value and respect your privacy. Your personal data will be kept private and processed securely, according to our Privacy Policy. If you change your mind anytime, you can unsubscribe directly when receiving a mail from us (the link will be at the bottom of the email) or contact us.
* denotes required fields
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. If you are not happy with this, you can opt-out below.