Man Praying

 
Issachar ber Ryback
Issachar ber Ryback (1897-1935) was born in Yelizavetgrad. He attended the Art Academy in Kiev from 1911-1916 and was an important contributor to the Kiev art scene until 1921 when he moved to Berlin where he participated in the historically important Berlin Secession exhibit. In 1926 he moved to Paris, dying there on the eve of an important retrospective exhibition of his work organized by Wildenstein. Much of his collection was donated for the establishment of the Ryback Museum of Bat Yam in Israel. Ryback was an important member of the Russian Jewish, modernist movement that included Lissitsky, Altman, Aronson and Chagall, all of whom were seeking to revitalize Jewish art during a period which saw the cultural efflorescence of Yiddish literature, music, theater, and art.