Letter handwritten and signed by Prof. Albert Einstein. Berlin, c. 1922. Sent to Jewish artist Hermann Struck.
Content of the letter: Einstein expresses appreciation to his friend Struck for his wonderful gift, with which he is overjoyed. Struck sent him two copies of the etching Elderly Jew in Jaffa , regarding which he declares that he has put the work in an appropriate place, above his desk. Einstein reveals great interest in the portrait of the “old man” captured by Struck so magnificently [Einstein once said, “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”]. He indicates that it always reminds him of Leonardo (Da Vinci?). Yet he sees fit to note that he has reservations about the strange rigidity projected by the figure in the etching. With a humorous note, he adds that the rigid expression is possibly due to the the old man’s being required to stand for the portrait. He writes that he will sign the etchings, as Struck has requested. [Struck sent two copies.] At the end of his letter, Einstein expresses his hope that he will meet Struck again soon.
Aside from his intensive scientific occupation, Einstein was also an art enthusiast, and saw them as two sublime complementary fields in the life of man; at one opportunity he expressed: ‘All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man’s life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.”
Refer to the next item for details of the special connection between Einstein and Hermann Struck.
[1] leaf Albert Einstein’s official stationery from when he was in Berlin, 22×17 cm. German. Very fine condition.
Einstein’s portrait – etching. On the etching, Einstein wrote: “Happy is the transitory whose countenance is snatched away by the pitiless master hand of time!”
In February 1923, Einstein visited the Land of Israel, and Struck invited him to visit his home on the Carmel. In a letter sent to a friend, Struck described how he was harsh with the great physicist, who had won the Nobel Prize a year earlier: The visit was planned for Friday, and Struck, who was a mitzvah-observant Jew, warned Einstein to take into account the time Shabbat begins, and Einstein obeyed. “So he walked the difficult path and up the ascent to the Carmel on foot, in very unpleasant weather. His consideration and efforts were greatly appreciated by all of us.” Einstein took it in good humor, “For Struck I ruined my trousers,” he said. And Struck wrote, “I immediately removed the chastised man’s coat and dressed him in my beautiful housecoat that I had received from my wife.”
Herman Struck [1876-1944] was the leading Jewish artist who immigrated to Israel. He contributed more than any other artist to the development of the graphic arts in the Land of Israel. Honorable status is reserved for him in Israel’s cultural life. He was born to an Orthodox family in Berlin. At the beginning of his career as an artist, he became one of the most important Jewish artists in Germany in the wake of his publication of the famous portrait of Theodor Herzl, [ Portrait of Theodor Herzl ] given his deep impression of Herzl’s image following their 1903 meeting in Vienna. In 1908, he published The Art of Etching , which detailed the procedure for printing the etchings. The book was very successful, and made its author the leading name in the field of etching in the entire art world. His students included Chagall, Max Leibermann, Jozef Israëls. Struck was an enthusiastic Zionist activist, and in 1922 he immigrated to the Land of Israel and built his home on the Carmel. He continued visiting his studio in Berlin on an annual basis until 1933, when he began dealing with founding the new Bezalel in the Land of Israel.
1 leaf, paper. Etching: 20×14 cm. Leaf size: 24×17 cm. 3 lines and a signature in Einstein’s handwriting, in pencil, and also Struck’s signature in pencil.
Fine-very fine condition. Two tiny stains beside the etching.