Meshorerim [choir singers] at the house of Rabbi Baruch Rabinowitz, Mukacevo

© Mara Vishniac Kohn, courtesy International Center of Photography

Meshorerim [choir singers] at the house of Rabbi Baruch Rabinowitz, Mukacevo

Currently not on view

Meshorerim [choir singers] at the house of Rabbi Baruch Rabinowitz, Mukacevo,

ca. 1937–38, printed after 1950

Roman Vishniac, 1897–1990; born St. Petersburg, Russia; died New York, NY; active Berlin, Germany, and New York City, NY
2017-232

In his description of In the market, Kazimierz, Krakow, Vishniac identifies the woman as Mrs. Shmulevich, a widow with four children. Though her business had been ruined by anti-Semitic boycotts, she continued to travel to the open-air market out of habit. Vishniac captured this moment between Shmulevich and a tax collector, who demanded payment lest he confiscate her merchandise. Shmulevich responded, "I don’t have anything." The collector replied, "Then I’ll take your food." She answered, "I don’t have any bread, and the sugar tin is empty. Only salt is left, to eat it alone is too bitter." In contrast to this story of desolation, Vishniac’s image of choir singers emphasizes the ways in which Jewish communities maintained traditions in the face of discrimination and violence.

Information

Title
Meshorerim [choir singers] at the house of Rabbi Baruch Rabinowitz, Mukacevo
Dates

ca. 1937–38, printed after 1950

Maker
Roman Vishniac
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 36.4 × 48.3 cm (14 5/16 × 19 in.) sheet: 40.5 × 50.5 cm (15 15/16 × 19 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Hugh Leander Adams, Mary Trumbull Adams and Hugh Trumbull Adams Princeton Art Fund
Object Number
2017-232
Place Made

Europe, Ukraine, Mukachevo

Inscription
Stamp in black ink on verso: © PHOTO BY / DR. ROMAN VISHNIAC / 219 WEST 81 STREET / NEW YORK CITY 10024 Stamp in black ink on verso: FROM THE ESTATE OF ROMAN VISHNIAC / © MARA VISHNIAC KOHN
Culture
American
Type
photographs, gelatin silver prints, black-and-white photographs
Techniques
gelatin silver process
Subject
figures (representations), singers, men

International Center of Photography, purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum, December 2017.

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