Assemblee des Rabbins et Notables …original lithograph by Theo Tobiasse artists proof

Assemblee des Rabbins et Notables au 16 siecle  dans un village de Lithuanie is an original artist proof ( E. A. ) lithograph by  Theo Tobiasse (b.1927 -2012)  an internationally successful French painter, engraver, illustrator, and sculptor. Known for his Judeo- Christian mysticism Tobiasse was born in Jaffa , Mandatory Palestrine ( now Israel ) . His Lithuanian family moved to Paris in 1931 where he grew up during the Nazi occupation. Perhaps the hardships he and his family endured helped define his artistic expression.  His work has great depth and originality as he seeks to express the inner world of man. After the war he pursued his career as a designer for the company Hermes creating stage sets, window decorations and tapestries. He later drew international attention , won awards and became known all over the world for his Expressionist paintings and prints.  Including the Drouant gallery,Paris, in Geneva, Montreal and Tokyo, then London, Zurich, Lauzanne, Los Angeles, Kyiv. He also had a solo exhibition in New York and many more shows world wide over the years.  A visit to Jerusalem in 1970 brought him closer to his Jewish origins. He created his first stained glass windows on the theme of “Jewish Holidays” for the Jewish Community Center in Nice and a monumental oil on canvas entitled Que tes tentes sont belles, ô Jacob (1982). He traveled and immersed himself in the cultures he encountered, the jazz of New Orleans, Mexican archaeological sites and Native American totems. In New York, he met Elie Wiesel (1982). When Josy Eisenberg was directing a film about Tobiasse, entitled ” Tell Me Who You Paint ” for French television in 1977, numerous personal exhibitions were devoted to him in France and abroad, in particular at the Passali gallery in Paris, the Musée de l’Athénée in Geneva and the Nahan Gallery in New Orleans. In 1983, a retrospective exhibition of his work was organized in Nice, at the Musée d’art contemporain de Ponchettes. In 2000, the Museum of Fine Arts, Palais Carnolès in Menton devoted a retrospective exhibition to him. On his death, he received tributes from the Minister of Culture, Aurelie Filippetti and from the deputy mayor of Nice.