Artist: Yosl Bergner (1920–2017)
Technique: Color lithograph, hand-signed and numbered
Edition: 47/220
Dimensions: 26x35 cm (Paper size)
About the Artwork:
This original color lithograph by the master Israeli artist Yosl Bergner showcases his iconic allegorical imagery. Set against an arched window opening to a minimalist desert horizon, the composition features an anthropomorphic antique metal stove alongside a decorative lantern containing a burning kerosene lamp. Executed in a refined palette of muted olive green, charcoal, earthy browns, and soft cream tones, this piece perfectly embodies Bergner’s signature theme—taking discarded kitchen and household utensils and transforming them into symbols of human wandering, memory, and cultural diaspora. The artwork is hand-signed by the artist in Hebrew along the bottom right and numbered 47/220 in the bottom left margin.
About the Artist:
Yosl Bergner (1920–2017) was a seminal Israeli painter and illustrator whose nomadic early life profoundly shaped his unique artistic vision. Born in Vienna and raised in Poland, Bergner emigrated to Australia as a young man before finally making Israel his home in 1950. His experiences of displacement and migration deeply influenced his art, making him a central figure in Israeli surrealism and expressionism. Bergner became world-renowned for his allegorical and hauntingly poetic depictions of inanimate, displaced objects—such as floating kerosene lamps, broken chairs, and old kitchen utensils—which he used as symbols to evoke memory, Jewish heritage, and the human condition. Over his long and celebrated career, his immense contribution to local culture was recognized with the prestigious Dizengoff Prize in 1956 and the Israel Prize for Painting in 1980. Today, his iconic works are celebrated globally and held in major permanent museum collections, including the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.