Tu bi-Shevat the Holiday of the Trees Has Arrived, Shalom Moskowitz the Galilean, Safed: [Mid-20th Century]

Shalom Moskowitz of Safed (1895-1980) was a folk artist who created a large oeuvre of paintings devoted to the themes of Jewish life. His great-grandparents had immigrated from Eastern Europe to the Holy Land in the eighteenth century, and Shalom lived in picturesque Safed in the Galilean hills for most of his life. Although his artistic talents were discovered late in life, within a short time Shalom attained a worldwide reputation as a talented naïve painter.

The subject of this painting is the celebration of the holiday of Tu bi-Shevat, which occurs on the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Shevat. It is also known as the “New Year for Trees.” In modern times, Tu bi-Shevat has become a symbol of the Zionist connection to the Land of Israel, as well as an opportunity for Jews to focus on environmental issues.

Physical Description

Tempera on paper (18 1/4 x 13 in.; 463 x 330 mm). Matted and framed.