Four
Children: Istvan
Zador
(Budapest, 1924) |
Abandoning the medieval
types and their identifying props (sword and book), Zador shows faces
differentiated only by their expressions and the position of their hands.
His wise type may even be a woman the only
woman among the illustrations of the Four Children in any of the Haggadot
before the rise of Jewish feminism. Her wisdom is reflected not in bookishness
but in a pained expression of deep thought concentrated in the forehead.
The wicked type raises a cynical eyebrow as he leans on his fist and half
smiles self-contentedly. The third and fourth figures are more childlike
in dress with wrinkleless foreheads. The open eyes, open mouth and raised
eyebrows of the simple one express interest and astonishment.
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