The Life and Artistic Journey of Mordechai Levanon
Born as Mordechai Weiss in a village near the city of Oradea in Transylvania, within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Levanon began his artistic training under the guidance of his older brother. Following his immigration to Israel in 1921, he spent time as an agricultural laborer in the Galilee Hebrew settlements and worked as a construction worker before dedicating himself fully to painting. After studying in the studio of Yitzhak Frenkel, he settled in Jerusalem in 1938 and later opened a studio in Safed in 1963, dividing his time between these two locations. He was a two-time winner of the Dizengoff prize, receiving the honor in 1940 and 1961.
Style and Artistic Vision
Levanon was a prominent Israeli landscape painter whose work was heavily influenced by his teacher, Isaac Frenkel, and the modern art trends of Paris. His paintings often draw from actual landscapes, which he re-creates on canvas through changing colors and perspectives to create works that feel like ecstatic visions. He was particularly enchanted by the light of Erez Israel and the spiritual history of the cities of Safed and Jerusalem, which feature heavily in his compositions. His style, which translates spiritual history into colors and shapes, has been noted for its resemblance to the Ecole de Paris and the vivid landscapes of Van Gogh.
